Where does “solve” come from?
Solve comes from Latin solvo, traced back to Proto-Italic swelawō, a verb of uncertain ultimate origin whose earliest sense involved loosening or releasing.
solve (English): To find an answer or solution to a problem or...
Definitions
- To find an answer or solution to a problem or...
Ancestry of “solve”, step by step
solve traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French dissoudre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | dissoudre | to dissolve |
| 2 | Italian | risolvere | to solve; to resolve; to settle |
| 3 | Spanish | resolver | to resolve, to sort out, to settle, to address,... |
| 4 | Latin | resolvō | to release, loosen, unloose, unbind, disentangle, relax, dissolve |
| 5 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 6 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 7 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Middle English solven
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | solven | To break up; to drive out |