Where does “multicelular” come from?
multicelular (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese celular, from Latin cellularis, from Latin cellula, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
multicelular (Portuguese): multicellular
Ancestry of “multicelular”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | celular | cellphone, mobile phone; Consisting of biological... |
| 2 | Latin | cellularis | cellular |
| 3 | Latin | cellula | small room, especially that of a slave; humble... |
| 4 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |