Where does “termites” come from?
termites (French) comes from French termite, from Latin termites, from Latin tarmes, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.
termites (French): plural of termite
Ancestry of “termites”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | termite | termite |
| 2 | Latin | termites | nominative plural of termes; accusative plural of... |
| 3 | Latin | tarmes | a worm that eats wood; a woodworm |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | terh₁- | to rub, turn; to drill, pierce |