Where does “twitter” come from?
twitter (French) comes from French sphère, from Late Latin sphera, from Latin sphaera, from Ancient Greek σφαῖρα, from Ancient Greek -ειδής, from Ancient Greek -ής, from Proto-Indo-European -ēs, from Proto-Indo-European -ess — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...
twitter (French): to tweet
Definitions
- to tweet
Ancestry of “twitter”, step by step
twitter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French sphère
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | sphère | sphere; sphere, area |
| 2 | Late Latin | sphera | Alternative form of sphaera |
| 3 | Latin | sphaera | ball, globe, sphere; a globe of the heavens; a... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |
via English Twitter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | A user account belonging to the above service; To... | |
| 2 | Middle English | twitren | — |
| 3 | Old English | twiterian | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | twitwizōną | To twitter; chirp |