Etymology Explorer › Middle English

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

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Medieval Latinabecedariumalphabet, ABC primer
2LatinabecedariusOf or pertaining to the alphabet—alphabetical,...
3Latindē—
4Latinpostbehind; after, since, besides, except; behind,...
5Latinposteablative singular of postis
6Proto-Italicposti—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpósti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpósafterwards, post; by, at

Words derived from “abecedary”

  • Abecedarian
  • abecedary
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pós →