Where does “characteristic” come from?
Characteristic derives from Ancient Greek χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω meaning to engrave or mark, from χαρακτήρ meaning an engraved mark or distinctive feature, from χαράσσω meaning to scratch or engrave, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer-.
characteristic (English): Being a distinguishing feature of a person or...
Definitions
- Being a distinguishing feature of a person or...
Ancestry of “characteristic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | χαρακτηριστικός | characteristic |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | χαρακτηρίζω | to designate by a characteristic mark |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -ίζω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | -íďďō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -idyéti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
Words derived from “characteristic”