Where does “onto” come from?
Onto derives from English on and to, with to ultimately tracing through Japanese 音読み and Japanese 音 to Latin te and Proto-Indo-European deyḱ- meaning to show or point.
onto (English): Upon; on top of; Aware of; Being an onto function...
Definitions
- Upon; on top of; Aware of; Being an onto function...
Ancestry of “onto”, step by step
onto traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English to
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | to | A particle used for marking the following verb as... |
| 2 | Middle English | to | toe; to; too |
| 3 | Middle English | tone | the one |
| 4 | Latin | tonus | The stretching or straining of a rope; A strain;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | τόνος | rope, cord; chord; tone, note |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | tónos | rope, cord; tension |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tónos | something stretched; chord, fiber, string |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |