Where does “x-ato” come from?
x-ato (Portuguese) comes from English X-Acto, from English exact, from Latin exactare, from Latin exactus, from Latin exigō, from Latin agō, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti — to drive.
x-ato (Portuguese): utility knife
Ancestry of “x-ato”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | X-Acto | — |
| 2 | English | exact | Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or... |
| 3 | Latin | exactare | — |
| 4 | Latin | exactus | driven out, expelled, having been driven out;... |
| 5 | Latin | exigō | — |
| 6 | Latin | agō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |