Where does “cellular phone” come from?
cellular phone (English) comes from English phone, from English telephone, from French téléphone, from French télé-, from Ancient Greek τῆλε, from Latin commūnicāre, from Latin commūnis, from Old Latin com(m)oinis — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
cellular phone (English): A mobile phone using cellular technology; A...
Definitions
- A mobile phone using cellular technology; A...
Ancestry of “cellular phone”, step by step
cellular phone traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English phone
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | phone | A device for transmitting conversations and other... |
| 2 | English | telephone | A telecommunication device used for two-way... |
| 3 | French | téléphone | telephone; first-person singular present... |
| 4 | French | télé- | tele- |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | τῆλε | far off, afar, far away |
| 6 | Latin | commūnicāre | — |
| 7 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 8 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English cellular
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cellular | Of, relating to, consisting of, or resembling a... |
| 2 | Latin | cellularis | cellular |
| 3 | Latin | cellula | small room, especially that of a slave; humble... |
| 4 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |