Where does “metalanguage” come from?
Metalanguage derives from English meta- combined with language, ultimately tracing through Ancient Greek μεθίστημι and μορφή to Proto-Indo-European roots denoting standing and form.
metalanguage (English): Any language or vocabulary of specialized terms...
Definitions
- Any language or vocabulary of specialized terms...
Ancestry of “metalanguage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | language | A body of words, and set of methods of combining... |
| 2 | Middle English | langage | language, tongue, speech; dialect, idiom, local... |
| 3 | Old French | language | language (style of communicating) |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | linguaticum | language |
| 5 | Latin | lingua | tongue; a speech; an utterance or expression |
| 6 | Latin | -ula | regō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tlom | Alternative form of *-trom |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |