Where does “ultrasound” come from?
Ultrasound derives from English sound combined with the Latin prefix ultra-, itself from Latin ultra meaning "beyond," ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂el- meaning "to go" or "move."
ultrasound (English): Sound with a frequency greater than the upper...
Definitions
- Sound with a frequency greater than the upper...
Ancestry of “ultrasound”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Sound | The strait that separates Zealand (an island of Denmark) from Scania (part of Sweden); also sometimes called by the Danish name, Øresund |
| 2 | Middle English | sound | — |
| 3 | Old English | sund | swimming; sea, water |
| 4 | Old Norse | sund | swimming; strait, sound; swimming, sound |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sundą | swimming; sound, strait |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | swimmaną | to be unsteady; to swim; float |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |