Where does “grotesque” come from?
grotesque (Middle French) comes from Italian grottesco, from Italian -esco, from Vulgar Latin -iscus, from Latin -ensis, from Latin arvum, from Latin colō, from Latin quelō, from Proto-Italic kʷelō — to turn.
grotesque (Middle French): farcical; small cave; ornament
Definitions
- farcical; small cave; ornament
Ancestry of “grotesque”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | grottesco | grotesque |
| 2 | Italian | -esco | Forms adjectives that indicate relationship,... |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | -iscus | -ish |
| 4 | Latin | -ensis | Of or from |
| 5 | Latin | arvum | field; farm land |
| 6 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 7 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |