Where does “decade” come from?
Decade comes from Middle French decade, from Late Latin decas, from Ancient Greek δεκάς, derived from δέκα, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥ meaning ten.
decade (English): A group, set, or series of ten, particularly
Definitions
- A group, set, or series of ten, particularly
Ancestry of “decade”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | decade | — |
| 2 | Middle French | decade | a series of 10 books |
| 3 | Latin | decās | a decade (period of ten years) |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | δεκάς | the number ten; a group of ten, decade |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ᾰ́ς | group of |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ónts | Derives nouns denoting body parts |
| 7 | Hungarian | önt | to pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön |
| 8 | Hungarian | ön | you |
| 9 | Hungarian | ön- | self- |
| 10 | Turkish | ön | front |
| 11 | Ottoman Turkish | اوك | voice (of human or animal); sound |
| 12 | Proto-Turkic | ǖn | sound, voice |