Where does “colleague” come from?
Colleague comes from Middle French collegue, from Latin collega, formed from com- and lego meaning to choose or gather together.
colleague (English): A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic...
Definitions
- A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic...
Ancestry of “colleague”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | collegue | co-worker; colleague |
| 2 | Latin | collēga | a partner (in office), colleague |
| 3 | Latin | com- | allomorph of con- |
| 4 | Latin | con- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing... |
| 5 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 6 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 10 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 11 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 12 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 13 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 14 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |