Where does “defibrillator” come from?
Defibrillator is derived from English defibrillate, which combines the prefix de- with English fibrillate, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European de-.
defibrillator (English): An electronic device used internally or...
Definitions
- An electronic device used internally or...
Ancestry of “defibrillator”, step by step
defibrillator traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English defibrillate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | defibrillate | To stop the fibrillation of the heart in order to... |
| 2 | English | de- | reversal, undoing, removing; Intensifying; from,... |
| 3 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 4 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 5 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 6 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
via English ‐or
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 2 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 3 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 4 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 5 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |