Where does “protestant” come from?
protestant (German) comes from French protestant, from French protester, from Latin prōtestor, from Latin testor, from Latin testis, from Latin terstis, from Latin trīstis, from Proto-Indo-European tristh₂s — to stand.
Ancestry of “protestant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | protestant | Protestant; present participle of protester |
| 2 | French | protester | to protest; to object |
| 3 | Latin | prōtestor | — |
| 4 | Latin | testor | I am witness, testify, attest; I make a will |
| 5 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 6 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 7 | Latin | trīstis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |