Where does “modulation” come from?
modulation (French) comes from Middle French modulation, from Latin modulatio, from Latin modulatus, from Latin modulor, from Latin modulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
modulation (French): modulation
Ancestry of “modulation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | modulation | — |
| 2 | Latin | modulatio | a regular measure, rhythmical measure,... |
| 3 | Latin | modulatus | measured |
| 4 | Latin | modulor | I measure; I regulate; I beat time |
| 5 | Latin | modulus | a small measure or interval; a module; a water... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |