Where does “cellmate” come from?
cellmate (English) comes from English cell, from English cell phone, from English cellular phone, from English phone, from English telephone, from French téléphone, from French télé-, from Ancient Greek τῆλε — resin, gum; to say, speak.
cellmate (English): A person with whom one shares a prison cell
Definitions
- A person with whom one shares a prison cell
Ancestry of “cellmate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cell | A single-room dwelling for a hermit; A small... |
| 2 | English | cell phone | A portable, wireless telephone, which changes... |
| 3 | English | cellular phone | A mobile phone using cellular technology; A... |
| 4 | English | phone | A device for transmitting conversations and other... |
| 5 | English | telephone | A telecommunication device used for two-way... |
| 6 | French | téléphone | telephone; first-person singular present... |
| 7 | French | télé- | tele- |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | τῆλε | far off, afar, far away |
| 9 | Latin | commūnicāre | — |
| 10 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 11 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 16 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 17 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 18 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 19 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 20 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |