Where does “versatile” come from?
Versatile comes from Latin versatilis, formed from versus, the past participle of vertere meaning "to turn," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.
versatile (English): Capable of doing many things competently; Having...
Definitions
- Capable of doing many things competently; Having...
Ancestry of “versatile”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | versātilis | that turns or moves around, revolving, movable |
| 2 | Latin | versātus | turned |
| 3 | Latin | versō | to turn often, keep turning, handle, whirl about, turn over |
| 4 | Latin | vertō | to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | wertō | to turn |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |