Where does “emollient” come from?
Emollient comes from French émollient, from Latin emolliens, the present participle of emollio meaning to soften, from ex- and mel-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European eǵ- and mel-.
emollient (English): Something which softens or lubricates the skin;...
Definitions
- Something which softens or lubricates the skin;...
Ancestry of “emollient”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | émollient | emollient; third-person plural present indicative... |
| 2 | Latin | emolliēns | softening |
| 3 | Latin | ēmolliō | to soften |
| 4 | Latin | molliō | to soften, make soft, make calm, moderate, mitigate, mollify |
| 5 | Latin | mollis | soft, delicate to the touch; pliant, flexible,... |
| 6 | Latin | molduis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | moldus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | *ml̥dus | soft, weak |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meld- | to soften, to melt |