Where does “diagonally” come from?
Diagonally comes from English diagonal, derived from Middle French diagonal, from Latin diagonalis, from Ancient Greek διαγώνιος, which combines διά (through) with a word related to the knee or angle.
diagonally (English): In a diagonal manner, not square to any direction
Definitions
- In a diagonal manner, not square to any direction
Ancestry of “diagonally”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | diagonal | Joining two nonadjacent vertices; Having slanted... |
| 2 | Middle French | diagonal | — |
| 3 | Latin | diagōnālis | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | διαγώνιος | from angle to angle |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | δῐᾰ- | apart; through, across; through; in different... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | διά | throughout |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dwís | twice, doubly; in two |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dwóh₁ | two |