Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “oral” come from?

Oral comes from Late Latin oralis, formed with the Latin suffix -alis from Proto-Indo-European h₃éh₁os, meaning mouth.

oral (English): Relating to the mouth; Spoken rather than...

Definitions

  1. Relating to the mouth; Spoken rather than...

Ancestry of “oral”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinōrālis—
2Latinōs—
3Proto-Italicōs—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ésth₁bone

Words derived from “oral”

  • orally
  • orality
  • intraoral
  • perioral
  • aboral
  • transoral
  • extraoral
  • oralism
  • oralist
  • oracy
  • peroral
  • intraorally
  • circumoral
  • nonoral
  • preoral
  • postoral
  • extraorally
  • transorally
  • hyperorality
  • adoral
  • oralization
  • aborally
  • paroral
  • perorally
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ésth₁ →