Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “-ema” come from?

-ema (Italian) comes from Italian fonema, from Ancient Greek φώνημα, from Ancient Greek φωνέω, from Ancient Greek φωνή, from Proto-Hellenic pʰōnā́, from Proto-Indo-European bʰoh₂-néh₂, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-s-ri-.

Ancestry of “-ema”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianfonemaphoneme
2Ancient Greekφώνημαsound made, utterance; thing spoken, speech,...
3Ancient GreekφωνέωI produce a sound or tone; I speak loud or...
4Ancient Greekφωνήsound; Usually of the human voice: voice, cry,...
5Proto-Hellenicpʰōnā́—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰoh₂-néh₂—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₂-to shine, glow light; to speak, say
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₂-s-ri-—

Words derived from “-ema”

  • morfema
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-s-ri- →