Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “vocabulum” come from?

vocabulum (Latin) comes from Latin vocō, from Latin vōx, from Proto-Italic wōks, from Proto-Indo-European wṓkʷs, from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- — to speak, to sound out.

Ancestry of “vocabulum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvocō—
2Latinvōx—
3Proto-Italicwōksvoice
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwṓkʷsvoice, speech
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- →