Where does “Person” come from?
Person (Swedish) comes from Swedish per, from Latin Petrus, from Indonesian penembak, from Indonesian tembak, from Malay tembak, from Malay timbak, from Proto-Malayic timbak, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ti(m)bak.
Person (Swedish): a person, in the plural, in tone people
Definitions
- a person, in the plural, in tone people
Ancestry of “Person”, step by step
Person traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish per
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | per | For each; for every |
| 2 | Latin | Petrus | Peter |
| 3 | Indonesian | penembak | shooter |
| 4 | Indonesian | tembak | to shoot to fire a shot |
| 5 | Malay | tembak | to shoot |
| 6 | Malay | timbak | Obsolete form of tembak |
| 7 | Proto-Malayic | timbak | — |
| 8 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | ti(m)bak | — |
via Latin persōna
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 2 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |