Where does “demicircle” come from?
demicircle (English) comes from English circle, from Middle English circle, from Old French cercle, from Latin circulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
demicircle (English): A semicircle; An instrument for measuring angles...
Definitions
- A semicircle; An instrument for measuring angles...
Ancestry of “demicircle”, step by step
demicircle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English circle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | circle | A two-dimensional geometric figure, a line,... |
| 2 | Middle English | circle | — |
| 3 | Old French | cercle | circle |
| 4 | Latin | circulus | circle; An orbit; A ring, hoop |
| 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 |
via English demi
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | demi | Alternative spelling of demy; A fifty pence... |
| 2 | Middle English | demi | half, half-sized, partial |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | demi | half |
| 4 | Latin | dīmidius | half |
| 5 | Latin | medius | middle; half; moderate |
| 6 | Latin | locus | place, spot; a passage of literature; "in the... |
| 7 | Old Latin | stlocus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | stlokos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | stel- | to put, to place; to locate |