Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “Никола́й” come from?

Никола́й (Russian) comes from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος, from Ancient Greek λᾱός, from Proto-Hellenic lāwós, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂wos, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂- — to bark, howl; to be concealed.

Ancestry of “Никола́й”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient GreekΝικόλαοςNicolas
2Ancient Greekλᾱόςpeople; men; the people
3Proto-Helleniclāwós—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂wospeople
5Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂-to bark, howl; to be concealed

Words derived from “Никола́й”

  • николаевский
  • Nikolai
  • ニコライ
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leh₂- →