Where does “precipitant” come from?
precipitant (Old French) comes from Latin praecipitans, from Latin praecipitō, from Latin praeceps, from Latin -ceps, from Old Latin -cipes, from Proto-Italic -kaputis, from Proto-Italic kaput, from Proto-Indo-European káput — to seize, hold.
Ancestry of “precipitant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | praecipitans | throwing |
| 2 | Latin | praecipitō | to cast down; to throw headlong |
| 3 | Latin | praeceps | head first, headlong; steep, precipitous; hasty,... |
| 4 | Latin | -ceps | -headed; -fold; -catcher |
| 5 | Old Latin | -cipes | "third declension"; Alternative form of -ceps;... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -kaputis | -headed |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |