Where does “taxonomic” come from?
Taxonomic comes from English taxonomy combined with the French suffix -ique, derived from Latin -icus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos, an adjectival suffix.
taxonomic (English): Of, or relating to taxonomy
Definitions
- Of, or relating to taxonomy
Ancestry of “taxonomic”, step by step
taxonomic traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English taxonomy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | taxonomy | The science or the technique used to make a... |
| 2 | French | taxonomie | Alternative form of taxinomie |
| 3 | English | taxo- | order, arrangement |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | τάξις | arrangement, ordering; battle array, order of... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via French taxonomique
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | taxonomique | Alternative form of taxinomique |
| 2 | French | -ique | Used to form adjectives from nouns: -ic, -ical,... |
| 3 | Middle French | -ique | ic |
| 4 | Old French | -ique | -ic |
| 5 | Latin | -icus | belonging to; derived from; of or pertaining to;... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *-ikos | forms adjectives with the sense of 'of or pertaining to' |