Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “undulate” come from?

Undulate comes from Late Latin undulatus, from Latin undula, from Latin unda meaning "wave," with the diminutive suffix -ulus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wed- and wey-.

undulate (English): To cause to move in a wavelike motion; To cause...

Definitions

  1. To cause to move in a wavelike motion; To cause...

Ancestry of “undulate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinundulātus—
2Latinundulawavelet; vocative singular of undula; ablative...
3Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
4Proto-Italic-olos—
5Proto-Italic-elos—
6Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “undulate”

  • undulation
  • undulatory
  • undulator
  • undulately
  • undulationist
  • undulative
  • circumundulate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →