Where does “pedant” come from?
Pedant comes from Middle French pedant, from Italian pedante, ultimately from Latin pes meaning foot, via Proto-Indo-European ped-.
pedant (English): A teacher or schoolmaster; A person who...
Definitions
- A teacher or schoolmaster; A person who...
Ancestry of “pedant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | pedant | teacher; tutor; educator; pedant |
| 2 | Italian | pedante | pedantic; schoolmaster; teacher |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | παιδεία | upbringing; training, education; youth, childhood |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παιδεύω | I raise, bring up a child; I train, teach,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | παῖς | child, son, daughter; young person, child, boy,... |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | pā́wits | child |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | péh₂wids | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂w- | few, little; smallness |