Where does “polyvalent” come from?
Polyvalent derives from Ancient Greek πολύς meaning "many," from Proto-Indo-European polh₁ús, itself from the root pleh₁-.
polyvalent (English): Multivalent; having a number of different forms,...
Definitions
- Multivalent; having a number of different forms,...
Ancestry of “polyvalent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | valent | Having valence |
| 2 | English | Valence | — |
| 3 | French | Valence | — |
| 4 | Latin | Valentia | — |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |