Where does “ghetto” come from?
ghetto (Italian) comes from Italian borghetto, from Italian -etto, from English -et, from Middle English -et, from Old French -et, from Latin -ātus, from Proto-Italic -ātos, from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂tos — Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality.
ghetto (Italian): ghetto
Definitions
- ghetto
Ancestry of “ghetto”, step by step
ghetto traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Italian borghetto
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | borghetto | hamlet; shanty town |
| 2 | Italian | -etto | Alterative suffix used to form melioratives,... |
| 3 | English | -et | Used to form diminutives, loosely construed |
| 4 | Middle English | -et | Forms diminutive nouns from nouns; in some words,... |
| 5 | Old French | -et | Used to form a diminutive, masculine noun;... |
| 6 | Latin | -ātus | ed |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -ātos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂tos | Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the possession of a thing or a quality |
via Venetian ghèto
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venetian | ghèto | foundry |