Where does “police” come from?
police (French) comes from Italian polizia, from Russian поли́ция, from Polish policja, from German Polizei, from Catalan policia, from Late Latin politia, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.
police (French): police; cop; policy
Definitions
- police; cop; policy
Ancestry of “police”, step by step
police traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Italian polizia
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | polizia | police |
| 2 | Russian | поли́ция | police |
| 3 | Polish | policja | police |
| 4 | German | Polizei | police |
| 5 | Catalan | policia | police; policeman, policewoman |
| 6 | Late Latin | politia | citizenship; government; state, government |
| 7 | Latin | polītīa | state, government, administration |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πολιτεία | the relation in which a citizen stands to the... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | πολῑ́της | citizen |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -της | Forms nouns representing a state of being; Added... |
| 11 | Proto-Hellenic | -tāts | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |
via Italian polizza
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | polizza | policy; bill, voucher |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | apodissa | receipt for money |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ἀπόδειξις | setting, showing forth, publication; proof;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |