Where does “interpersonal” come from?
Interpersonal derives from Latin inter- meaning "between" and Latin per- meaning "through," combined with Latin sonus meaning "sound," plus the Latin suffix -alis, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European wel-.
interpersonal (English): Between two or more people
Definitions
- Between two or more people
Ancestry of “interpersonal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | personal | Pertaining to human beings as distinct from... |
| 2 | Middle English | personal | — |
| 3 | Old French | personel | personal |
| 4 | Latin | persōnālis | personal; of or belonging to a person |
| 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 |