Where does “heterosexism” come from?
Heterosexism derives from English heterosexual plus the suffix -ism, from Ancient Greek -ισμός, from Ancient Greek -μός, from Proto-Indo-European -mós, denoting a state or condition.
heterosexism (English): The assumption made when relating to others that...
Definitions
- The assumption made when relating to others that...
Ancestry of “heterosexism”, step by step
heterosexism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English heterosexual
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | heterosexual | Sexually attracted to members of the opposite... |
| 2 | English | -sexual | Forms a noun or adjective describing a state or... |
| 3 | English | sexual | Arising from the fact of being male or female;... |
| 4 | Latin | sexuālis | sexual |
| 5 | Latin | sexus | division; sex; gender |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | seksus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | séksus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |
via English ism
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ism | An ideology, system of thought, or practice that... |
| 2 | English | -ism | Used to form nouns of action or process or result... |
| 3 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |