Where does “rhetor” come from?
Rhetor comes from Latin rhetor, from Ancient Greek ῥήτωρ, from εἴρω, tracing back through Proto-Hellenic wéřřō and Proto-Indo-European ser- to the root werh₁-.
rhetor (English): A rhetorician
Ancestry of “rhetor”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | rethor | — |
| 2 | Latin | rhētor | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ῥήτωρ | orator, public speaker; politician, statesman;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | εἴρω | I tie, join, fasten, string together; I insert;... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | wéřřō | to say, to tell |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wéryeti | to be saying |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | werh₁- | to speak, say |