Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “vortex” come from?

vortex (Latin) comes from Latin vortō, from Proto-Italic wertō, from Proto-Indo-European wert-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

vortex (Latin): whirlpool, eddy, vortex

Definitions

  1. whirlpool, eddy, vortex

Ancestry of “vortex”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvortō—
2Proto-Italicwertō—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “vortex”

  • vertical
  • vertically
  • vertex
  • vertices
  • vortex
  • vertigo
  • vorticity
  • verticality
  • vortical
  • vortexing
  • vortexed
  • vertice
  • subvertical
  • verticalization
  • nonvertical
  • antivertigo
  • nonvertex
  • verticalism
  • antivortex
  • verticalness
  • vertexing
  • verticalize
  • intervortex
  • vortexlike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →