Where does “elderspeak” come from?
elderspeak (English) comes from English elder, from English -dom, from English DOM, from English dominance, from English -ance, from Middle English -aunce, from Old French -ance, from Latin -ia — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
elderspeak (English): A simplified, patronizing speech style used by...
Definitions
- A simplified, patronizing speech style used by...
Ancestry of “elderspeak”, step by step
elderspeak traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English elder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | elder | comparative degree of old: older, greater than... |
| 2 | English | -dom | Forming nouns denoting the condition or state of... |
| 3 | English | DOM | Initialism of date of marriage; Initialism of... |
| 4 | English | dominance | The state of being dominant; of prime importance;... |
| 5 | English | -ance | Added to an adjective or verb to form a noun... |
| 6 | Middle English | -aunce | Forms nouns indicating states or processes, usually from verbs or other nouns; -ance |
| 7 | Old French | -ance | ance (suffix used to form nouns) |
| 8 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 9 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via English speak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | speak | To communicate with one's voice, to say words out... |
| 2 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 3 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 4 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | to speak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |