Where does “contrabasso” come from?

contrabasso (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.

contrabasso (English): The largest kind of bass viol

Definitions

  1. The largest kind of bass viol

Ancestry of “contrabasso”, 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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷem- →