Where does “matador” come from?
matador (French) comes from Spanish matador, from Spanish matar, from Latin mattāre, from Late Latin mattus, from Latin maditus, from Latin madere, from Latin madeō, from Proto-Indo-European meh₂d- — to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,...
matador (French): matador
Ancestry of “matador”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | matador | a slaughterer, a killer; matador, a featured... |
| 2 | Spanish | matar | to kill, slay; to put out, extinguish; to butcher |
| 3 | Latin | mattāre | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | mattus | drunk, intoxicated |
| 5 | Latin | maditus | — |
| 6 | Latin | madere | present active infinitive of madeō; to be wet; be... |
| 7 | Latin | madeō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | meh₂d- | to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,... |