Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “controverse” come from?

controverse (English) comes from Middle French controverse, from Old French controversie, from Latin contrōversia, from Latin contrōversus, from Latin versus, from Latin vertō, from Proto-Italic wertō, from Proto-Indo-European wert- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

controverse (English): Controversy; to controvert

Definitions

  1. Controversy; to controvert

Ancestry of “controverse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchcontroverse—
2Old Frenchcontroversie—
3Latincontrōversia—
4Latincontrōversus—
5Latinversusturned, changed, having been turned; towards,...
6Latinvertō—
7Proto-Italicwertō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →