Where does “impersonate” come from?
Impersonate comes from English, derived from Latin -atus (past participle suffix), Latin in- (prefix), Latin in, Proto-Indo-European ne, Proto-Indo-European oyd-, Latin sonus meaning sound, and Latin sonus.
impersonate (English): To pretend to be (a different person); to assume the identity of, especially when there is an intent to deceive
Definitions
- To pretend to be (a different person); to assume the identity of, especially when there is an intent to deceive
Ancestry of “impersonate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Person | An individual who has been granted personhood; usually a human being |
| 2 | Middle English | persoun | person |
| 3 | Old French | persone | person; individual; rector of a parish; someone;... |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | persona | parson, person; mask; character |
| 5 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 6 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |