Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unilingual” come from?

unilingual (English) comes 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...

unilingual (English): knowing or using a single language; a person who...

Definitions

  1. knowing or using a single language; a person who...

Ancestry of “unilingual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishlingualrelated to the tongue; related to language or...
2Latinlinguālis—
3Latinlinguatongue; a speech; an utterance or expression
4Latin-ularegō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;...
5Proto-Indo-European-tlomAlternative form of *-trom
6Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
7Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “unilingual”

  • unilingualism
  • unilingually
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →