Where does “automobile” come from?

Automobile comes from French automobile, combining French auto- (from Ancient Greek αὐτός, meaning "self") and French mobile (meaning "movable").

automobile (English): A type of vehicle designed to move on the ground...

Definitions

  1. A type of vehicle designed to move on the ground...

Ancestry of “automobile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchautomobileautomotive; automobile
2Frenchauto-auto- regarding oneself
3Ancient Greekαὐτο-self-
4Ancient Greekαὐτόςαὐτή f, αὐτό n; "first/second declension";...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ewaway from, off; again
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanǵʰePostpositional intensifying particle: indeed, at any rate, in fact

Words derived from “automobile”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰe →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ew →Every word from Ancient Greek αὐτός →