Where does “monotone” come from?
monotone (French) comes from Latin monotonus, from Greek μονότονος, from Greek τόνος, from French tonne, from Latin tunna, from Proto-Celtic tondā, from Proto-Indo-European tend-, from Proto-Indo-European temh₂- — to stretch, string; to cut.
monotone (French): monotone; whose speech is monotone; boring due to...
Definitions
- monotone; whose speech is monotone; boring due to...
Ancestry of “monotone”, step by step
monotone traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin monotonus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | monotonus | unvarying in tone |
| 2 | Greek | μονότονος | monotonous, flat; dull, boring |
| 3 | Greek | τόνος | ΄ tonos; note, pitch, tone; shade |
| 4 | French | tonne | tonne, metric ton; ton; first-person singular... |
| 5 | Latin | tunna | tun, box |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | tondā | skin; surface, skin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tend- | to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | temh₂- | to stretch, string; to cut |
via Late Latin monotonus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | monotonus | unvarying in tone |