Where does “pedantism” come from?
pedantism (English) comes from English pedant, from Middle French pedant, from Italian pedante, from Ancient Greek παιδεία, from Ancient Greek παιδεύω, from Ancient Greek παῖς, from Proto-Hellenic pā́wits, from Proto-Indo-European péh₂wids — few, little; smallness.
pedantism (English): Behaving or acting in the manner of a pedant
Definitions
- Behaving or acting in the manner of a pedant
Ancestry of “pedantism”, step by step
pedantism traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English pedant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pedant | A teacher or schoolmaster; A person who... |
| 2 | Middle French | pedant | teacher; tutor; educator; pedant |
| 3 | Italian | pedante | pedantic; schoolmaster; teacher |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παιδεία | upbringing; training, education; youth, childhood |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | παιδεύω | I raise, bring up a child; I train, teach,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | παῖς | child, son, daughter; young person, child, boy,... |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | pā́wits | child |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | péh₂wids | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂w- | few, little; smallness |
via French pédantisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | pédantisme | pedantry; pretentiousness |
| 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 |