Where does “elastic” come from?
Elastic comes from French élastique, from Latin elasticus, from Ancient Greek ἐλατός meaning "driven or set in motion."
elastic (English): Capable of stretching; particularly, capable of...
Definitions
- Capable of stretching; particularly, capable of...
Ancestry of “elastic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | élastique | elastic; rubber band |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | ἐλαστός | ductile, flexible |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ἐλατός | ductile |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἐλαύνω | drive, set in motion; ride a horse, drive a... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τός | creates verbal adjectives of possibility, either... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |