Where does “voicemail” come from?
Voicemail derives from English voice and English mail, where voice comes from Middle English voys, from Latin vox meaning "sound" or "voice," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wekw- meaning "to speak."
voicemail (English): Alternative spelling of voice mail
Definitions
- Alternative spelling of voice mail
Ancestry of “voicemail”, step by step
voicemail traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | A bag or wallet; A bag containing letters to be... | |
| 2 | Middle English | mal | — |
| 3 | Old English | māl | speech, contract, agreement; suit, case, action,... |
| 4 | Old Norse | mál | language; speech; matter, affair |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | mēlą | measure, measurement; time, occasion; point in... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |
via English voice
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | voice | Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human... |
| 2 | Middle English | voys | A voice; the sound a human or other speaking... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | voiz | voice |
| 4 | Latin | vocem | accusative singular of vōx; first-person singular... |
| 5 | Latin | vox | voice |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | wōks | voice |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wṓkʷs | voice, speech |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wekʷ- | to speak, to sound out |