Where does “cameleon” come from?
cameleon (Old French) comes from Latin chamaeleon, from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων, from Ancient Greek χαμαί, from Ancient Greek Χθών, from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm, from Proto-Indo-European -ōm, from Proto-Indo-European -mi.
Ancestry of “cameleon”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | chamaeleon | chameleon; carline thistle |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | χαμαιλέων | chameleon; type of plant, so called because of... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | χαμαί | on the earth, near the ground; to the... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Χθών | the Earth, personified as a goddess |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéǵʰōm | earth |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ōm | emphatic suffix or postpositive particle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mi | — |