Where does “claustrophobic” come from?
Claustrophobic derives from English claustrophobia, from Latin claustrum meaning an enclosed space, combined with Latin -icus and Proto-Indo-European -kos suffixes ultimately rooted in Proto-Indo-European kel- meaning to conceal.
claustrophobic (English): Suffering from claustrophobia; being scared of...
Definitions
- Suffering from claustrophobia; being scared of...
Ancestry of “claustrophobic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | claustrophobia | The fear of closed, tight places |
| 2 | Latin | claustrum | a bar, band, bolt; gate, door, bulwark; enclosure |
| 3 | Latin | claudere | present active infinitive of claudō;... |
| 4 | Latin | claudo | I shut, close, lock; I imprison, confine; I... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | klaudō | close |
Words derived from “claustrophobic”