Where does “morse” come from?

morse (Italian) comes from Italian morso, from Latin morsus, from Latin -tus, from Proto-Italic -tus, from Proto-Indo-European -tus — Derives action nouns from verb roots.

morse (Italian): plural of morsa; third-person singular past...

Definitions

  1. plural of morsa; third-person singular past...

Ancestry of “morse”, step by step

morse traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian morso

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmorsobite; bit; nibble
2Latinmorsusbitten, eaten, devoured, consumed, having been...
3Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
4Proto-Italic-tus
5Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

via Italian mordere

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmordereto bite
2Latinmordēre

via Italian morsa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianmorsavice, grip, clamp
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tusEvery word from Latin -tusEvery word from Latin morsus