Where does “Ovid” come from?
Ovid comes from Latin Ovidius, derived from Latin ovis (sheep), from Proto-Italic owis, from Proto-Indo-European h₃éwis (sheep).
Ancestry of “Ovid”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | ovidius | — |
| 2 | Latin | ovis | sheep; dative/ablative plural of ōvum |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | owis | sheep |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ówis | sheep |