Where does “mezza voce” come from?

mezza voce (Italian) comes from Italian mezza, from Italian mezzo, from Latin medius, from Latin locus, from Old Latin stlocus, from Proto-Italic stlokos, from Proto-Indo-European stel- — to put, to place; to locate.

Ancestry of “mezza voce”, step by step

mezza voce traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian mezza

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmezzahalf-hour
2Italianmezzohalf, middle; means, method; vehicle
3Latinmediusmiddle; half; moderate
4Latinlocusplace, spot; a passage of literature; "in the...
5Old Latinstlocus—
6Proto-Italicstlokos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanstel-to put, to place; to locate

via Italian voce

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianvocevoice; sound an animal makes; article
2Latinvōxvoice
3Proto-Italicwōksvoice
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwṓkʷsvoice, speech
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stel- →Every word from Proto-Italic stlokos →Every word from Old Latin stlocus →