Where does “single” come from?
single (Norwegian Nynorsk) comes from English single, from Middle English single, from Old French sengle, from Late Latin cingula, from Latin Cingulum, from Latin -ulum, from Proto-Indo-European -tlom, from Proto-Indo-European -trom — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
single (Norwegian Nynorsk): a single; singles
Ancestry of “single”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | single | Not accompanied by anything else; one in number;... |
| 2 | Middle English | single | — |
| 3 | Old French | sengle | single; alone; alone; in an unaccompanied way |
| 4 | Late Latin | cingula | nominative/accusative/vocative plural of cingulum |
| 5 | Latin | Cingulum | — |
| 6 | Latin | -ulum | Used to form a noun of instrument or means from a... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tlom | Alternative form of *-trom |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |