Where does “conversational” come from?
Conversational derives from English conversation, from French conversation, from Latin conversatio meaning "living together" or "association," ultimately from Latin converto meaning "to turn together."
conversational (English): of, relating to, or in the style of a...
Definitions
- of, relating to, or in the style of a...
Ancestry of “conversational”, step by step
conversational traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English conversation
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | conversation | Expression and exchange of individual ideas... |
| 2 | Middle English | conversacioun | — |
| 3 | French | conversation | conversation |
| 4 | Latin | conversātiō | way of life, conduct or behavior |
| 5 | Latin | conversor | first-person singular present passive indicative... |
| 6 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 7 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 8 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 12 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 13 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 14 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 15 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 16 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via French conversationnel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | conversationnel | conversational |
| 2 | French | -el | To make an adjectival form of a noun; -al |
| 3 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 4 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |