Where does “variable” come from?
variable (Old French) comes from Latin variāre, from Latin varius, from Latin vārus, from Proto-Indo-European h₂wer-, from Proto-Indo-European wēr-, from Proto-Indo-European wer- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.
Ancestry of “variable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | variāre | — |
| 2 | Latin | varius | diverse, different, various, variegated |
| 3 | Latin | vārus | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂wer- | to lift up; to moisten; to flow; to raise, hang |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |
Words derived from “variable”