Where does “altcoin” come from?
altcoin (English) comes from English coin, from French coin, from Old French coin, from Latin cuneus, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ḱū, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ- — sharp.
altcoin (English): A cryptocurrency other than bitcoin
Definitions
- A cryptocurrency other than bitcoin
Ancestry of “altcoin”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | coin | A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the... |
| 2 | French | coin | wedge, cornerpiece; corner; area, part, place,... |
| 3 | Old French | coin | — |
| 4 | Latin | cuneus | wedge, wedge shape; troops arrayed in a wedge... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ḱū | sting |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |