Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “puttana” come from?

puttana (Italian) comes from Old French putain, from Vulgar Latin putta, from Latin puta, from Latin puto, from Latin putus, from Proto-Indo-European puHtós, from Proto-Indo-European pewH- — to be clean, pure.

puttana (Italian): whore, slut, hooker, harlot, tart; bitch;...

Definitions

  1. whore, slut, hooker, harlot, tart; bitch;...

Ancestry of “puttana”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchputainwhore, prostitute, bitch
2Vulgar Latinputtaprostitute
3Latinputasecond-person singular present active imperative...
4LatinputoI clean, cleanse; I trim, prune, lop; I arrange,...
5Latinputuspure; a boy
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanpuHtóspure, clean
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanpewH-to be clean, pure

Words derived from “puttana”

  • puttanesca
  • puttanella
  • puttanaio
  • puttanesimo
  • puttaneggiare
  • puttanesco
  • puttaniere
  • puttanesca
  • путана
  • πουτανάκι
  • πουτανίτσα
  • πουτανάρα
  • πουτανιάρης
  • καραπουτάνα
  • πουτάνα
  • puta
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pewH- →