Where does “native tongue” come from?
native tongue (English) comes from English Native, from Middle English natif, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from Latin nātus, from Latin gnātus, from Proto-Italic gnātos, from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥h₁tós — to produce, to beget, to give birth.
Ancestry of “native tongue”, step by step
native tongue traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Native
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Native | aboriginal inhabitant of a region colonized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | natif | — |
| 3 | Old French | natif | — |
| 4 | Latin | nātīvus | created, made |
| 5 | Latin | nātus | born, arisen, made |
| 6 | Latin | gnātus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | gnātos | born |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥h₁tós | begotten, produced |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
via English tongue
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tongue | The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is... |
| 2 | Middle English | tung | tongue; A tongue-shaped thing; language, speech,... |
| 3 | Old English | tung | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | tungā | tongue; speech, language |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tungǭ | tongue; speech, language |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s | tongue |