Where does “neutral” come from?
neutral (Old French) comes from Latin neutrālis, from Latin neuter, from Latin nē, from Latin gēns, from Proto-Italic *gentis, from Proto-Indo-European ǵénh₁tis, from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- — to produce, to beget, to give birth.
Ancestry of “neutral”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | neutrālis | — |
| 2 | Latin | neuter | neither; neuter; neuter, intransitive |
| 3 | Latin | nē | — |
| 4 | Latin | gēns | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *gentis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁tis | birth, production |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |