Where does “Wikipedia” come from?
Wikipedia derives from English encyclopedia and Hawaiian wikiwiki, which comes from Proto-Polynesian witi, ultimately from Ancient Greek παιδείᾱ and κύκλος, tracing to Proto-Indo-European kʷékʷlos and kʷel-.
Wikipedia (English): A version of the encyclopedia Wikipedia in a...
Definitions
- A version of the encyclopedia Wikipedia in a...
Ancestry of “Wikipedia”, step by step
Wikipedia traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English encyclopedia
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | encyclopedia | A comprehensive reference work with articles on... |
| 2 | New Latin | encyclopaedia | general education; encyclopedia |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | παιδείᾱ | rearing of a child, education; child-rearing,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παῖς | child, son, daughter; young person, child, boy,... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | pā́wits | child |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | péh₂wids | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂w- | few, little; smallness |
via English wiki
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wiki | A collaborative website which can be directly... |
| 2 | English | WikiWikiWeb | — |
| 3 | Hawaiian | wikiwiki | speedy |
| 4 | Hawaiian | wiki | hasten, speed up; be swift, speedy, quick |
| 5 | Proto-Polynesian | witi | — |