Where does “expletivity” come from?
expletivity (English) comes from English expletive, from Late Latin expletivus, from Latin explētus, from Latin expleō, from Latin pleō, from Proto-Italic plēō, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.
expletivity (English): The quality of being expletive
Definitions
- The quality of being expletive
Ancestry of “expletivity”, step by step
expletivity traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English expletive
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | expletive | Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise... |
| 2 | Late Latin | expletivus | serving to fill out |
| 3 | Latin | explētus | filled up, completed |
| 4 | Latin | expleō | to fill up, occupy completely |
| 5 | Latin | pleō | Combining form used to form prefixed verbs with the approximate meaning "to fill" |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | plēō | to fill |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |