Where does “calculator” come from?
Calculator comes from Middle English calkelatour, from Latin calculator meaning one who calculates, derived from calculus meaning pebble or stone used for reckoning, from calx meaning heel or stone.
calculator (English): A mechanical or electronic device that performs...
Definitions
- A mechanical or electronic device that performs...
Ancestry of “calculator”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | calkelatour | — |
| 2 | Latin | calculator | calculator, bookkeeper, accountant; computer, one... |
| 3 | Latin | calculō | to calculate, compute, reckon |
| 4 | Latin | calculus | diminutive of calx; pebble, stone; reckoning,... |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |