Where does “humic” come from?

Humic comes from English humus combined with the French suffix -ique, derived from Latin -icus, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European -kos.

humic (English): Of, or relating to humus

Definitions

  1. Of, or relating to humus

Ancestry of “humic”, step by step

humic traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English humus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhumusA large group of natural organic compounds, found...
2Turkishhumushumus; hummus
3Frenchhumushumus
4Latinhumusground, floor; earth, soil
5Proto-Italichomos
6Polishhomoseksualnyhomosexual

via French humique

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchhumiquehumic
2French-iqueUsed to form adjectives from nouns: -ic, -ical,...
3Middle French-iqueic
4Old French-ique-ic
5Latin-icusbelonging to; derived from; of or pertaining to;...
6Proto-Italic*-ikosforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or pertaining to'

Words derived from “humic

Every word from Polish homoseksualnyEvery word from Proto-Italic homosEvery word from Latin humus