Where does “literatura” come from?
literatura (Silesian) comes from German Literatur, from Dutch literatuur, from French littérature, from Latin litterātūra, from Latin littera, from Latin lītera, from Old Latin leitera, from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH- — to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...
Ancestry of “literatura”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Literatur | literature |
| 2 | Dutch | literatuur | literature |
| 3 | French | littérature | literature |
| 4 | Latin | litterātūra | lettering; alphabet |
| 5 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 6 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 7 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |