Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “ostension” come from?

ostension (Middle French) comes from Latin ostensio, from Latin ostendō, from Latin obs-, from Latin ob-, from Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, from Ancient Greek ὀβελός, from Ancient Greek βέλος — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.

Ancestry of “ostension”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinostensiopresenting, showing, exhibiting
2Latinostendō—
3Latinobs-in front of
4Latinob-towards; against
5Latinobolusobolus
6Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
7Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
8Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
9Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
10Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “ostension”

  • ostension
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →