Where does “instar” come from?

Instar comes from Latin instar, meaning "likeness or image," from Latin in- and Latin in combined with Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr.

instar (English): Any one of the several stages of postembryonic...

Definitions

  1. Any one of the several stages of postembryonic...

Ancestry of “instar”, step by step

instar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English star

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstarAny small luminous dot appearing in the cloudless...
2Middle Englishsterrestar
3Old Englishsteorrastar
4Proto-West Germanicsterrō—
5Proto-Germanicsternôstar
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂stḗrstar
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eHs-to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth

via Latin instar

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latininstarimage, likeness, resemblance; counterpart; worth,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eHs- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr →Every word from Proto-Germanic sternô →