Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “antediluvian” come from?

Antediluvian comes from English ante- combined with diluvian, from Latin ante meaning "before" and Latin diluviānus from diluvium "flood," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ meaning "to flow."

antediluvian (English): Ancient or antiquated; Extremely dated;...

Definitions

  1. Ancient or antiquated; Extremely dated;...

Ancestry of “antediluvian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishante-Prior to in time; In front of in space; anterior
2Latinantebefore, in front, forwards; before; before,...
3Ancient Greekκλίσιςbending, inclination; a lying down; a place for...
4Ancient Greek-σῐς"suffix forming nouns"
5Ancient Greek-τιςEarlier form of -σις , retained after dentals δ,...
6Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “antediluvian”

  • antediluvial
  • antediluvially
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →