Where does “caress” come from?
Caress comes from French caresse, from Italian carezza, derived from Italian caro meaning dear, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kāro-.
caress (English): An act of endearment; any act or expression of...
Definitions
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of...
Ancestry of “caress”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | caresse | caress; stroke; first-person singular present... |
| 2 | Italian | carezza | caress; pat, pet |
| 3 | Italian | -ezza | Added to adjectives to form abstract nouns; -ity;... |
| 4 | Latin | -itia | -ness, -ity |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |