Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “vertigo” come from?

vertigo (Latin) comes from Latin -igo, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.

Ancestry of “vertigo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latin-igoEnlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to...
2Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →