Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paramedic” come from?

Paramedic comes from English parachute and English medic, where medic derives from Latin -icus and Proto-Indo-European -kos and med-, meaning to measure or care for.

paramedic (English): An individual trained to medically stabilize...

Definitions

  1. An individual trained to medically stabilize...

Ancestry of “paramedic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishpara-above, beyond; beside, near, alongside;...
2EnglishparachuteA device, generally constructed from fabric, that...
3Frenchparachuteparachute
4Frenchpara-para-
5Italianpara-para-
6Italianparacrepe rubber; crepe; third-person singular...
7Italianparanoiaparanoia
8Ancient Greekπαράνοιαderangement, madness
9Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
10Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
11Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →