Where does “matador” come from?
Matador comes from Spanish matador, from Spanish matar meaning "to kill," derived from Latin mactus, past participle of a verb formed with Latin -tor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European meǵh₂- meaning "to strike."
matador (English): The person whose aim is to kill the bull in a...
Definitions
- The person whose aim is to kill the bull in a...
Ancestry of “matador”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | matador | a slaughterer, a killer; matador, a featured... |
| 2 | Spanish | matar | to kill, slay; to put out, extinguish; to butcher |
| 3 | Latin | mattāre | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | mattus | drunk, intoxicated |
| 5 | Latin | maditus | — |
| 6 | Latin | madere | present active infinitive of madeō; to be wet; be... |
| 7 | Latin | madeō | to be wet or moist |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | meh₂d- | to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,... |