Where does “vertebra” come from?

Vertebra comes from Latin vertebra, a noun derived from the verb vertere meaning "to turn," ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root wer- with the same sense.

vertebra (English): Any of the small bones which make up the backbone

Definitions

  1. Any of the small bones which make up the backbone

Ancestry of “vertebra”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvertebrajoint; vertebra
2Latinvertōto turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve
3Proto-Italicwertōto turn
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “vertebra

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer-