Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “medusa” come from?

medusa (Italian) comes from Ancient Greek μέδουσα, from Ancient Greek μέδω, from Proto-Indo-European mēd-, from Proto-Indo-European med- — to measure; to give advice; healing.

medusa (Italian): A jellyfish

Definitions

  1. A jellyfish

Ancestry of “medusa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμέδουσα—
2Ancient Greekμέδωto protect, rule over
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmēd-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmed-to measure; to give advice; healing

Words derived from “medusa”

  • idromedusa
Every word from Proto-Indo-European med- →