Where does “zygote” come from?
Zygote comes from Ancient Greek ζυγωτός, derived from Ancient Greek ζυγός, which traces to Proto-Indo-European yugóm, ultimately from the root yewg-.
zygote (English): A fertilized egg cell
Ancestry of “zygote”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | ζυγωτός | yoked |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | ζυγόω | to yoke, join together |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -όω | Added to a noun or adjective to make a verb with... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -oyéti | Creates factitive verbs from adjectives |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 7 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
Words derived from “zygote”