Where does “buffalo” come from?
buffalo (Northern Sami) comes from English Buffalo, from Spanish búfalo, from Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, from Ancient Greek βούβαλος, from Ancient Greek βοῦς, from Latin corvus, from Proto-Italic korwos — army.
buffalo (Northern Sami): buffalo
Ancestry of “buffalo”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Buffalo | — |
| 2 | Spanish | búfalo | buffalo; buffalo, the American bison |
| 3 | Latin | būfalus | — |
| 4 | Latin | būbalus | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βούβαλος | A species of antelope, possibly the bubal... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βοῦς | cow, ox, cattle; shield: ὃτι ἐκ βοείων ἐστι... |
| 7 | Latin | corvus | A raven; a bird associated with prophecy and... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | korwos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂wós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |