Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “coliseum” come from?

coliseum (English) comes from Latin Colosseum, from Latin colosseus, from Ancient Greek κολοσσιαῖος, from Ancient Greek -αῖος, from Ancient Greek -ῐος, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.

coliseum (English): A large theatre, cinema, or stadium; A large,...

Definitions

  1. A large theatre, cinema, or stadium; A large,...

Ancestry of “coliseum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinColosseum—
2Latincolosseuscolossal, huge, gigantic
3Ancient Greekκολοσσιαῖος—
4Ancient Greek-αῖος—
5Ancient Greek-ῐοςbelonging to; of”, “belonging to”, “pertaining to
6Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →