Where does “surdo-mudo” come from?
surdo-mudo (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese surdo, from Old Portuguese sordo, from Latin surdus, from Proto-Indo-European swēr- — heavy.
surdo-mudo (Portuguese): deaf-mute
Ancestry of “surdo-mudo”, step by step
surdo-mudo traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Portuguese surdo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | surdo | Unable to hear; deaf |
| 2 | Old Portuguese | sordo | — |
| 3 | Latin | surdus | deaf; inattentive, unresponsive; silent,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | swēr- | heavy |
via Portuguese mudo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | mudo | mute; of a letter that is written but not... |
| 2 | Old Provencal | mudo | — |
| 3 | Latin | mūtus | mute, dumb, silent, unable to speak, inarticulate |