Where does “spongy” come from?
Spongy comes from English sponge plus the suffix -y, from Ancient Greek σπόγγος, a word for the marine organism used for cleaning.
spongy (English): Having the characteristics of a sponge, namely...
Definitions
- Having the characteristics of a sponge, namely...
Ancestry of “spongy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sponge | Any of various marine invertebrates, mostly of... |
| 2 | Old English | spunge | — |
| 3 | Latin | spongia | A sponge; pumice, or other things resembling a... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | σπογγιά | sponge |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ῐ́ᾱ | {{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |