Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “vital” come from?

vital (Old French) comes from Latin vītālis, from Latin vīta, from Latin vīvō, from Proto-Italic gʷīwō, from Proto-Indo-European gʷíh₃weti, from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- — to live.

Ancestry of “vital”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvītālis—
2Latinvīta—
3Latinvīvō—
4Proto-Italicgʷīwōlive, be alive
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʷíh₃wetito live, to be alive
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʷih₃wósalive, living
7Proto-Indo-Europeangʷeih₃w-to live

Words derived from “vital”

  • vital
  • vitality
  • vitally
  • revitalize
  • vitalism
  • vitalizing
  • revitalisation
  • vitalize
  • vitalistic
  • revitalise
  • vitalist
  • vitalization
  • nonvital
  • vitalise
  • devitalization
  • intravital
  • devitalize
  • Ryvita
  • supravital
  • unvital
  • vitalizer
  • revitalizer
  • neovitalism
  • vitalic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- →