Where does “illiterate” come from?
Illiterate comes from Latin illitteratus, formed from the prefix in- and litteratus, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European ne and h₁én.
illiterate (English): Unable to read and write; Having less than an...
Definitions
- Unable to read and write; Having less than an...
Ancestry of “illiterate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | illitteratus | unlearned, uneducated, unscholarly; illiterate;... |
| 2 | Latin | litteratus | learned, educated, scholarly, literate; cultured,... |
| 3 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 4 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 5 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |