Where does “invertebrate” come from?

Invertebrate derives from English in- plus vertebrate, with the prefix in- coming from Middle English in-, Latin in-, and Latin in, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne, oyd-, en, and en.

invertebrate (English): An animal without vertebrae, i.e. backbone; A...

Definitions

  1. An animal without vertebrae, i.e. backbone; A...

Ancestry of “invertebrate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishin-in, into, towards, within; in, into; Used with...
2Middle Englishin-—
3Old Englishin-in, into; on, upon; internal, positioned on the...
4Old Englishinin; Alternative form of inn
5Proto-West Germanic*in—
6Proto-Germanicinin; into
7Proto-Indo-Europeanénin

Words derived from “invertebrate”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European én →Every word from Proto-Germanic in →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *in →