Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “generalissimo” come from?

Generalissimo comes from Italian generalissimo, from Italian generale, from Latin generalis, from the Latin suffix -alis and Proto-Italic genos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- meaning to beget or produce.

generalissimo (English): A supreme commander of the armed forces of a...

Definitions

  1. A supreme commander of the armed forces of a...

Ancestry of “generalissimo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiangeneralissimocommander in chief
2Italiangeneralegeneral
3Latingeneralisgeneral, generic
4Latingenusbirth, origin, lineage, descent; kind, type,...
5Proto-Italicgenoslineage, origin
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵénh₁osrace, lineage
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →