Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ptomaine” come from?

ptomaine (English) comes from French ptomaïne, from Italian ptomaina, from Ancient Greek πτῶμα, from Ancient Greek πίπτω, from Ancient Greek -ωσις, from Ancient Greek -σῐς, from Ancient Greek -τις, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.

ptomaine (English): Any of various amines formed by putrefactive...

Definitions

  1. Any of various amines formed by putrefactive...

Ancestry of “ptomaine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchptomaïneptomaine
2Italianptomainaptomaine
3Ancient Greekπτῶμαfall; misfortune, calamity, defeat; one who has...
4Ancient Greekπίπτωto fall, throw oneself down
5Ancient Greek-ωσιςabnormal condition or state; state, abnormal...
6Ancient Greek-σῐς"suffix forming nouns"
7Ancient Greek-τιςEarlier form of -σις , retained after dentals δ,...
8Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →