Where does “Zettelkasten” come from?
Zettelkasten (German) comes from German Zettel, from German zeddel, from German zedele, from Italian cedola, from Medieval Latin cedula, from Latin schedula, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
Zettelkasten (German): slip box, card file
Definitions
- slip box, card file
Ancestry of “Zettelkasten”, step by step
Zettelkasten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Zettel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Zettel | a small or loose piece of paper, slip; note,... |
| 2 | German | zeddel | — |
| 3 | German | zedele | — |
| 4 | Italian | cedola | counterfoil; coupon, voucher |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | cedula | Alternative form of schedula |
| 6 | Latin | schedula | leaf of paper |
| 7 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |