Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “athletique” come from?

athletique (Middle French) comes from Latin āthlēticus, from Ancient Greek ἀθλητικός, from Ancient Greek ἀθλητής, from Ancient Greek ἀθλέω, from Ancient Greek -έω, from Proto-Indo-European -éyeti, from Proto-Indo-European -yeti — Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots.

Ancestry of “athletique”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latināthlēticus—
2Ancient Greekἀθλητικόςof or for an athlete, athletic
3Ancient Greekἀθλητήςa combatant, champion, especially a prizefighter;...
4Ancient Greekἀθλέωto contend for a prize, combat, wrestle; to be an...
5Ancient Greek-έωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
6Proto-Indo-European-éyetiForms causative imperfective verbs from roots;...
7Proto-Indo-European-yetiCreates transitive imperfective verbs from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yeti →