Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pedestrian” come from?

Pedestrian comes from Latin pedester, derived from Latin pedis, the genitive of Latin pes meaning "foot," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pṓds.

pedestrian (English): Of or intended for those who are walking;...

Definitions

  1. Of or intended for those who are walking;...

Ancestry of “pedestrian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpedesterwalking, pedestrian, on foot; of infantry, foot...
2Latinpedesa walker, one who walks; foot soldier,...
3Latinpēs—
4Ancient Greekμέτρονsomething used to measure: measure, rule, weight;...
5Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
6Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
7Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
8Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “pedestrian”

  • pedestrianism
  • pedestrianization
  • pedway
  • pedestrianize
  • pedestrianly
  • pedestrianise
  • nonpedestrian
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →