Where does “ballot” come from?
Ballot comes from Italian ballotta, derived from Italian balla, which comes from Italian ballare, tracing back through Proto-Germanic balluz to Proto-Indo-European roots gʷelH- and bʰel-.
ballot (English): "Originally", a small ball placed in a container...
Definitions
- "Originally", a small ball placed in a container...
Ancestry of “ballot”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | ballotta | boiled chestnut; ballot; shot, ball |
| 2 | Italian | balla | large bundle, torsello, bale, reap; falsehood,... |
| 3 | Old French | balle | — |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | balla | — |
| 5 | Frankish | balla | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | balluz | round object, ball; ball of the hand, foot, etc |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |