Where does “e-pal” come from?

e-pal (English) comes from English pal, from Romani pal, from Romani phral, from Sanskrit भ्रातृ, from Proto-Indo-Aryan bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tēr — brother.

e-pal (English): An Internet pen pal

Definitions

  1. An Internet pen pal

Ancestry of “e-pal”, step by step

e-pal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English pal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpalA friend, buddy, mate, cobber; someone to hang...
2Romanipal
3Romaniphralbrother
4Sanskritभ्रातृbrother; kinsman, relative; friend
5Proto-Indo-AryanbʰráHtābrother
6Proto-Indo-IranianbʰráHtābrother
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰréh₂tērbrother

via English E

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishEThe ordinal number fifth, derived from this...
2Old EnglishE
3LatinEScribal abbreviation of the diphthong ae
4Etruscan𐌄
5Ancient GreekεLower case epsilon, the fifth letter of the ancient and modern Greek alphabets. Its name was εἶ, later ἒ ψιλόν, and presently έψιλον. It represents roughly the same sound in both alphabets: in Modern Greek, a somewhat lowered variant of the mid front unrounded vowel: or. It is preceded by δ and foll
6Phoenician𐤄that
7Egyptian𓀠
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰréh₂tērEvery word from Proto-Indo-Iranian bʰráHtāEvery word from Proto-Indo-Aryan bʰráHtā