Where does “trilingualist” come from?
trilingualist (English) comes from English trilingual, from English lingual, from Latin linguālis, from Latin lingua, from Latin -ula, from Proto-Indo-European -tlom, from Proto-Indo-European -trom, from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
trilingualist (English): A trilingual person
Ancestry of “trilingualist”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | trilingual | Able to read or speak three languages; Expressed... |
| 2 | English | lingual | related to the tongue; related to language or... |
| 3 | Latin | linguālis | — |
| 4 | Latin | lingua | tongue; a speech; an utterance or expression |
| 5 | Latin | -ula | regō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tlom | Alternative form of *-trom |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |