Where does “organelle” come from?
Organelle comes from French -elle, from Old French -ele, from Latin -ella, a diminutive suffix derived from Proto-Indo-European werǵ-, meaning to work or turn.
organelle (English): A specialized structure found inside cells that...
Definitions
- A specialized structure found inside cells that...
Ancestry of “organelle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -elle | Used to form feminine proper names |
| 2 | French | -elle | Forming feminine nouns, often with a diminutive... |
| 3 | Old French | -ele | diminutive suffix, forming feminine nouns |
| 4 | Latin | -ella | inflection of -ellus: ## nominative/vocative... |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |