Where does “Spezies” come from?
Spezies (German) comes from Latin speciēs, from Latin speciō, from Proto-Italic spekjō, from Proto-Indo-European spéḱyeti, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- — to see, to look, to observe.
Ancestry of “Spezies”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | speciēs | — |
| 2 | Latin | speciō | — |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | spekjō | to observe, to see |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | spéḱyeti | to be looking at, to keep looking at |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | speḱ- | to see, to look, to observe |