Where does “vocative” come from?
vocative (Romanian) comes from Romanian vocativ, from French vocatif, from Middle French vocatif, from Latin vocātīvus, from Latin vocō, from Latin vōx, from Proto-Italic wōks, from Proto-Indo-European wṓkʷs — to speak, to sound out.
vocative (Romanian): plural of vocativ
Ancestry of “vocative”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Romanian | vocativ | the vocative case |
| 2 | French | vocatif | vocative, vocative case |
| 3 | Middle French | vocatif | the vocative case |
| 4 | Latin | vocātīvus | — |
| 5 | Latin | vocō | — |
| 6 | Latin | vōx | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | wōks | voice |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wṓkʷs | voice, speech |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wekʷ- | to speak, to sound out |