Where does “patriotism” come from?
Patriotism comes from English patriot, derived from Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός (suffix forming abstract nouns), from πατριώτης (fellow countryman), πατρίς (fatherland), and πατήρ (father), ultimately from Proto-Hellenic patḗr and Proto-Indo-European ph₂tḗr.
patriotism (English): Love of one's country; devotion to the welfare of...
Definitions
- Love of one's country; devotion to the welfare of...
Ancestry of “patriotism”, step by step
patriotism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French patriotisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | patriotisme | patriotism |
| 2 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 3 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 4 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |