Where does “Mauritanian” come from?
Mauritanian derives from English Mauritania, from Latin Mauritania, from Latin Maurus, ultimately from Proto-Italic -os via Latin suffix formations -us, -um, -anus.
Mauritanian (English): A person from Mauritania or of Mauritanian...
Definitions
- A person from Mauritania or of Mauritanian...
Ancestry of “Mauritanian”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Mauritania | — |
| 2 | Latin | Maurītānia | — |
| 3 | Latin | Mauritanus | Mauritanian, of the Moors |
| 4 | Latin | maurus | Moorish, North African |
| 5 | French | maure | Moorish |
| 6 | Middle French | moré | Moor (person of Berber descent) |
| 7 | Old French | More | — |
| 8 | Latin | Maurus | Of or pertaining to the Moors; Moorish,... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | Μαυρούσιος | an inhabitant of Mauretania; a Mauretanian |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -ούσιος | forms relational adjectives: of or pertaining to |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | -ῐος | belonging to; of”, “belonging to”, “pertaining to |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |