Where does “portfolio” come from?
Portfolio comes from Italian portafoglio, from Italian portare (to carry) and Latin folium (leaf), ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots for bearing and unfolding.
portfolio (English): A case for carrying papers, drawings,...
Definitions
- A case for carrying papers, drawings,...
Ancestry of “portfolio”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | portafoglio | wallet, billfold; portfolio |
| 2 | Italian | foglio | sheet |
| 3 | Latin | folium | a leaf; a petal; a sheet or leaf of paper |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | *foljom | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰolh₃yom | leaf |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |