Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “papa” come from?

papa (Old English) comes from Vulgar Latin papa, from Latin papa, from Ancient Greek παπᾶς, from Old Norse súla, from Proto-Germanic sūliz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsewl-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew-.

Ancestry of “papa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vulgar Latinpapa—
2Latinpapaan infant's cry for food; father; bishop
3Ancient Greekπαπᾶςpriest
4Old Norsesúla—
5Proto-Germanicsūlizbeam, post; column, pillar
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsewl-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsew-—

Words derived from “papa”

  • Pope
  • pope
  • popery
  • popish
  • popishly
  • papish
  • Popean
  • antipopery
  • popeless
  • popishness
  • popehood
  • popess
  • popist
  • popelike
  • popeship
  • popeling
  • unpope
  • popism
  • papisher
  • papishly
  • pope-holy
  • dispope
  • popehead
  • popa
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew- →