Where does “Spenserian” come from?
Spenserian derives from English Spenser, formed with the Latin suffix -ianus, itself from Latin -ius, ultimately traced through Latin -um and -us to Proto-Indo-European -yós and -ós.
Spenserian (English): Of or pertaining to Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599), English poet, or his works
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599), English poet, or his works
Ancestry of “Spenserian”, step by step
Spenserian traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Spenser
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Spenser | a rare spelling variant of Spencer |
| 2 | Middle English | Spenser | — |
| 3 | Middle English | spenser | spencer |
| 4 | Old French | espensier | — |
| 5 | Latin | dispensare | present active infinitive of dispēnsō;... |
| 6 | Latin | dispendere | to weight out; weigh out; to weigh out |
| 7 | Latin | pendēre | — |
| 8 | Latin | pendō | to weigh, weigh out |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |
via English ian
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ian | — |
| 2 | Irish | Eoin | John any of several people in the Bible |
| 3 | Old Irish | Iohain | John apostle |
| 4 | Latin | Iōannēs | John biblical persons |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | Ἰωάννης | — |
| 6 | Hebrew | יוחנן | Yahweh is gracious |
| 7 | Hebrew | חנון | gracious, merciful, compassionate; passive... |
| 8 | Moroccan Arabic | خنونة | mucus, snot |
| 9 | Arabic | خُنَّة | — |