Etymology Explorer › Neapolitan

Where does “vecchia” come from?

vecchia (Neapolitan) comes from Latin vetula, from Latin vetulus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

vecchia (Neapolitan): old; old woman; grandmother

Definitions

  1. old; old woman; grandmother

Ancestry of “vecchia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvetulaold woman; a corn dolly or small figurine, shaped...
2Latinvetulusold; little old, poor old; old man; little old...
3Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
4Proto-Italic-olos—
5Proto-Italic-elos—
6Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →