Where does “cretaceous” come from?
cretaceous (English) comes from Latin cretaceus, from Latin Crēta, from Latin -āceus, from Latin -āx, from Latin -ium, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
cretaceous (English): Of or relating to chalk; Consisting of chalk
Definitions
- Of or relating to chalk; Consisting of chalk
Ancestry of “cretaceous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | cretaceus | chalky, cretaceous |
| 2 | Latin | Crēta | — |
| 3 | Latin | -āceus | — |
| 4 | Latin | -āx | — |
| 5 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
Words derived from “cretaceous”