Where does “volley” come from?
Volley comes from Middle French volée, from Latin volta, from Latin volatus (past participle of volvere, to turn or roll), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH-.
volley (English): The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles...
Definitions
- The simultaneous firing of a number of missiles...
Ancestry of “volley”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | volée | flight |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | volta | nominative/accusative/vocative plural of voltum |
| 3 | Latin | volatus | flown, having been flown; flying; flight |
| 4 | Latin | volō | to wish, to please |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | gʷelāō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelh₁-éh₂-ye-ti | to throw, raise the arm |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |