Where does “dimensionless” come from?
I need to work through this chain carefully to identify what it actually supports.
Looking at the chain provided:
- English dimension
- Latin dimensio
- Old English -lēas
- Latin dimetior
- Latin dis-
- Proto-Indo-European lewH-
- Proto-Indo-European dwís
- Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁
There's a problem here: this chain appears to conflate two different etymologies. "Dimension" comes from Latin *dimensio* (from *dimetior*, meaning "to measure out"), which traces through *dis-* and *metiri* (to measure). The suffix "-less" comes from Old English *-lēas*, which has a completely different origin.
However, the chain as given seems malformed—it doesn't clearly show how these elements combine or what the oldest roots mean. The chain jumps between unrelated etymologies.
Given
dimensionless (English): Lacking dimensions; Of a physical constant:...
Definitions
- Lacking dimensions; Of a physical constant:...
Ancestry of “dimensionless”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | dimension | A single aspect of a given thing; A measure of... |
| 2 | Latin | dimensio | measuring; measurement; dimension |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | — |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | — |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |