Where does “Protestant” come from?
Protestant derives from French protestant, from the French -ant suffix added to Latin protestari, meaning to declare or assert, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root bʰuH- meaning to be or become.
Protestant (English): A member of any of several Christian...
Definitions
- A member of any of several Christian...
Ancestry of “Protestant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | protestant | Protestant person |
| 2 | French | protestant | Protestant; present participle of protester |
| 3 | French | protester | to protest; to object |
| 4 | Latin | prōtestor | to testify, bear witness, attest |
| 5 | Latin | testor | I am witness, testify, attest; I make a will |
| 6 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 7 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 8 | Latin | trīstis | sad, unhappy, melancholy, morose |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |