Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ruminant” come from?

Ruminant comes from Latin ruminans, derived from Latin ruminor meaning to chew over again, from Latin rumen meaning throat or gullet, traced to Proto-Indo-European sréwmn̥ and the root srew-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ser-.

ruminant (English): Chewing cud; Pondering; ruminative; An...

Definitions

  1. Chewing cud; Pondering; ruminative; An...

Ancestry of “ruminant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinrūmināns—
2LatinruminorI chew the cud; I ruminate
3Latinrumenthroat, gullet
4Proto-Indo-Europeansréwmn̥—
5Proto-Indo-Europeansrew-to flow, stream
6Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together

Words derived from “ruminant”

  • nonruminant
  • ruminantly
  • preruminant
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →