Where does “porpoise” come from?
Porpoise comes from Middle English porpeys, from Old French porpeis, from Vulgar Latin porcopiscis, a compound of Latin porcus (pig) and piscis (fish).
porpoise (English): A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae,...
Definitions
- A small cetacean of the family Phocoenidae,...
Ancestry of “porpoise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | porpeys | porpoise cetacean of family |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | porpeis | porpoise |
| 3 | Old French | pourpois | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | porcopiscis | porpoise |
| 5 | Latin | porcus | a piglet, a young pig; a pig, hog; Short for... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | porkos | pig |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pórḱos | piglet |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | perḱ- | colored; motley; to open, rip up |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |