Where does “abecedary” come from?
abecedary (Middle English) comes from Medieval Latin abecedarium, from Latin abecedarius, from Latin dē, from Latin post, from Latin poste, from Proto-Italic posti, from Proto-Indo-European pósti, from Proto-Indo-European pós — afterwards, post; by, at.
Ancestry of “abecedary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | abecedarium | alphabet, ABC primer |
| 2 | Latin | abecedarius | Of or pertaining to the alphabet—alphabetical,... |
| 3 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 4 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 5 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |