Where does “balla” come from?
balla (Medieval Latin) comes from Frankish balla, from Proto-Germanic balluz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰōl-.
Ancestry of “balla”, step by step
balla traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Frankish balla
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankish | balla | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | balluz | round object, ball; ball of the hand, foot, etc |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via Old High German balla
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | balla | ball; buttocks |