Where does “colonel” come from?
colonel (French) comes from Middle French coronel, from Italian colonnello, from Italian -ello, 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.
colonel (French): A colonel, highest commissioned officer below...
Definitions
- A colonel, highest commissioned officer below...
Ancestry of “colonel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | coronel | — |
| 2 | Italian | colonnello | colonel |
| 3 | Italian | -ello | Alterative suffix used to form... |
| 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 | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |