Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fricative” come from?

Fricative derives from Latin fricativus, from Latin fricare meaning "to rub," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰreyH- meaning "to rub or break."

fricative (English): Any of several sounds produced by air flowing...

Definitions

  1. Any of several sounds produced by air flowing...

Ancestry of “fricative”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1New Latinfricativus—
2Latinfricō—
3LatinfrioI crumble, rub, or break into pieces
4Proto-Italic*friāō—

Words derived from “fricative”

  • nonfricative
  • fricativeness
  • fricatively
  • prefricative
  • fricativo
  • fricative
Every word from Proto-Italic *friāō →