Where does “Schlüsselroman” come from?

Schlüsselroman (German) comes from German roman, from French roman, from Old French romanz, from Latin rōmānicē, from Latin -ē, from Latin dis-, from Latin calceus, from Latin calx — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

Schlüsselroman (German): roman à clef

Definitions

  1. roman à clef

Ancestry of “Schlüsselroman”, step by step

Schlüsselroman traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German roman

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanromannovel
2FrenchromanRomance; romanesque; A novel
3Old FrenchromanzOld French; a story in Old French; account
4Latinrōmānicēin the Roman manner
5Latinly; used to form adverbs from adjectives
6Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
7Latincalceusshoe
8Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
9Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

via German schlüssel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschlüssela key
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξEvery word from Latin dis-Every word from Latin