Where does “contrabass” come from?

contrabass (English) comes from Italian contrabbasso, from Italian basso, from Latin Bassus, from Ancient Greek βάσις, from Proto-Hellenic gʷə́tis, from Proto-Indo-European gʷémtis, from Proto-Indo-European gʷem- — to step.

contrabass (English): part or section one octave lower than bass;...

Definitions

  1. part or section one octave lower than bass;...

Ancestry of “contrabass”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiancontrabbassodouble bass
2Italianbassolow; short; narrow, thin
3LatinBassusthick, fat, stumpy, short, low, base
4Ancient Greekβάσιςstep; rhythm; foot
5Proto-Hellenicgʷə́tisstep
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʷémtisstep, act of walking
7Proto-Indo-Europeangʷem-to step

Words derived from “contrabass”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷem- →