Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flotilla” come from?

Flotilla comes from Spanish flotilla, diminutive of flota, from French flotte, from Latin flotta, ultimately from Frankish flotōn and Proto-Germanic flutōną meaning to float.

flotilla (English): A small fleet of warships , or a fleet of small...

Definitions

  1. A small fleet of warships , or a fleet of small...

Ancestry of “flotilla”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishflotillafleet, flotilla
2Spanish-illaAdded to feminine nouns to denote a diminutive...
3Old Spanish-iellaA diminutive suffix
4Latin-ellainflection of -ellus: ## nominative/vocative...
5Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
6Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
7Proto-Italic-olos—
8Proto-Italic-elos—
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “flotilla”

  • flotillin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →