Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paratrooper” come from?

Paratrooper comes from English paratroop, blending English parachute and English troop, where parachute derives from Latin -are and Latin -arius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European treb-.

paratrooper (English): A type of soldier who is trained to enter combat...

Definitions

  1. A type of soldier who is trained to enter combat...

Ancestry of “paratrooper”, step by step

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