Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sesquiannual” come from?

sesquiannual (English) comes from English sesqui-, from Latin sēsqui-, from Latin -que, from Proto-Italic -kʷe, from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe — and; Forms distributives from interrogatives.

sesquiannual (English): Occurring once every one and a half years

Definitions

  1. Occurring once every one and a half years

Ancestry of “sesquiannual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishsesqui-1½; 1½ times; In a ratio of 3 to 2
2Latinsēsqui-—
3Latin-queand, a copulative particle affixed to the word it...
4Proto-Italic-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
5Proto-Indo-European-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe →