Where does “Protestants” come from?
Protestants comes from English Protestant, derived from French protestant, the adjective form of French protester, from Latin protestari meaning "to declare publicly," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH- meaning "to be" or "become."
Protestants (English): plural of Protestant
Ancestry of “Protestants”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Protestant | A member of any of several Christian... |
| 2 | German | protestant | — |
| 3 | French | protestant | Protestant; present participle of protester |
| 4 | French | protester | to protest; to object |
| 5 | Latin | prōtestor | — |
| 6 | Latin | testor | I am witness, testify, attest; I make a will |
| 7 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 8 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 9 | Latin | trīstis | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |