Where does “van” come from?
van (Romanian) comes from Latin vānus, from Italian vano, from Italian vanare, from Romanian -re, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti — he, she.
van (Romanian): vain; futile; idle
Ancestry of “van”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | vānus | — |
| 2 | Italian | vano | vain, useless, idle; quaint; space, opening,... |
| 3 | Italian | vanare | Alternative form of vaneggiare |
| 4 | Romanian | -re | -ing, -ation |
| 5 | Latin | -āre | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |