Where does “Lisp” come from?

Lisp (English) comes from Middle English lispen, from Old English wlispian, from Old English wlisp, from Proto-Germanic wlispaz, from Proto-Indo-European wlis-, from Proto-Indo-European wēl- — to see, perceive.

Lisp (English): A functional programming language with a distinctive parenthesized syntax, much used in artificial intelligence

Definitions

  1. A functional programming language with a distinctive parenthesized syntax, much used in artificial intelligence

Ancestry of “Lisp”, step by step

Lisp traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English lispen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlispen—
2Old Englishwlispian—
3Old Englishwlisplisping; stammering
4Proto-Germanicwlispazstammering; lisping
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwlis-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwēl-to see, perceive

via English list processing

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishlist processing—

Words derived from “Lisp”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wēl- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wlis- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wlispaz →