Where does “perky” come from?
Perky derives from English percolate, from Latin percolāre meaning to strain through, with the adjective-forming suffix -ivus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos.
perky (English): Lively or enthusiastic; Standing upright; firm
Definitions
- Lively or enthusiastic; Standing upright; firm
Ancestry of “perky”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | perk | Perquisite; A bonus ability that a player... |
| 2 | English | percolate | To pass a liquid through a porous substance; to... |
| 3 | Latin | percolatus | strained through, filtered through, percolated |
| 4 | Latin | percōlō | to strain or filter through; to percolate |
| 5 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 6 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |