Where does “analphabète” come from?
analphabète (French) comes from Italian analfabeta, from Ancient Greek ἀναλφάβητος, from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.
Ancestry of “analphabète”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Italian | analfabeta | illiterate |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | ἀναλφάβητος | illiterate |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ἀ- | The alpha privativum, used to make words that... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | hə- | same; together |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sm̥- | one; with, together |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |