Where does “picturesque” come from?
Picturesque comes from French -esque, from Italian -esco, from Latin -iscus, combined with Latin pictus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵ-, meaning to paint or depict.
picturesque (English): Resembling or worthy of a picture or painting;...
Definitions
- Resembling or worthy of a picture or painting;...
Ancestry of “picturesque”, step by step
picturesque traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French pittoresque
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | pittoresque | picturesque; someone or something that is... |
| 2 | Italian | pittoresco | picturesque |
| 3 | Italian | -esco | Forms adjectives that indicate relationship,... |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | -iscus | -ish |
| 5 | Latin | -ensis | Of or from |
| 6 | Latin | arvum | field; farm land |
| 7 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 8 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |
via English picture
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | picture | A representation of anything upon canvas, paper,... |
| 2 | Middle English | pycture | — |
| 3 | Old French | picture | — |
| 4 | Latin | pictūra | painting, the art of painting |
| 5 | Latin | pingō | to decorate, adorn, embellish |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | peyḱ- | to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to... |