Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “violinist” come from?

Violinist comes from English violin plus the suffix -ista from Latin, ultimately deriving from Latin vitula, a stringed instrument, itself possibly related to Latin vis meaning force or strength.

violinist (English): A person who plays the violin

Definitions

  1. A person who plays the violin

Ancestry of “violinist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishviolinA musical four-string instrument, generally...
2GermanViolineviolin
3Italianviolinoviolin, fiddle; violin, violinist
4Italian-inoAlterative suffix used to form diminutives; Used...
5Latin-īnus—
6Proto-Italic-īnosof/belonging to
7Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
8Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

Words derived from “violinist”

  • violinistic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →