Where does “December” come from?
December comes from Middle English december, from Old French decembre, from Latin december, derived from Latin decem meaning "ten," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥.
Ancestry of “December”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | December | — |
| 2 | Old French | decembre | December |
| 3 | Latin | december | of December; December |
| 4 | Latin | decem | ten; 10 |
| 5 | Latin | -nus | -an |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -nos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -nós | Creates verbal adjectives from roots |
Words derived from “December”