Where does “păpușiță” come from?

păpușiță (Romanian) comes from Romanian păpușă, from Latin pupa, from Latin pupus, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w- — few, little; smallness.

Ancestry of “păpușiță”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Romanianpăpușădoll; puppet; pupa or nymph/larva in certain...
2Latinpupagirl, little girl; doll, puppet; pupa
3Latinpupusa boy, a child; a puppet; the pupil of the eye
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂w-few, little; smallness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w- →Every word from Latin pupus →Every word from Latin pupa →