Where does “semivocale” come from?
semivocale (Italian) comes from Latin semivocalis, from Latin vōcālis, from Latin vōx, from Proto-Italic wōks, from Proto-Indo-European wṓkʷs, from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- — to speak, to sound out.
semivocale (Italian): semivowel
Ancestry of “semivocale”, step by step