Where does “storytelling” come from?
Storytelling derives from English story, tracing back through English tell and Arabic تَلّ to Latin instaurare, meaning to set up or establish, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne.
storytelling (English): The act and skills of presenting stories and...
Definitions
- The act and skills of presenting stories and...
Ancestry of “storytelling”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | story | A sequence of real or fictional events; or, an... |
| 2 | Middle English | storie | The spoken or textual recounting of historic... |
| 3 | Old French | estorie | Alternative form of estoire |
| 4 | Latin | historia | history; account; story |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἱστορία | inquiry, examination, systematic observation,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἱστορέω | to inquire, ask; to examine, observe; to record,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἵστωρ | one who knows law and right, judge; witness; a... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | wístōr | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wéydtōr | one who has seen, one who knows |
| 10 | Indo-European | *weyd- | — |