Where does “zorillo” come from?
zorillo (English) comes from Spanish zorrillo, from Spanish -illo, from Old Spanish -iello, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
zorillo (English): striped skunk
Ancestry of “zorillo”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | zorrillo | skunk; A badly smelling person; Certain truck... |
| 2 | Spanish | -illo | Added to masculine nouns to denote a diminutive... |
| 3 | Old Spanish | -iello | A diminutive suffix |
| 4 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |