Etymology Explorer › Vulgar Latin

Where does “papa” come from?

papa (Vulgar Latin) comes from Latin papa, from Ancient Greek παπᾶς, from Old Norse súla, from Proto-Germanic sūliz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsewl-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew-.

Ancestry of “papa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinpapaan infant's cry for food; father; bishop
2Ancient Greekπαπᾶςpriest
3Old Norsesúla—
4Proto-Germanicsūlizbeam, post; column, pillar
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsewl-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱsew-—

Words derived from “papa”

  • Pope
  • pope
  • popery
  • popish
  • popishly
  • papish
  • Popean
  • antipopery
  • popeless
  • popishness
  • popehood
  • popess
  • popist
  • popelike
  • popeship
  • popeling
  • unpope
  • popism
  • papisher
  • papishly
  • pope-holy
  • dispope
  • popehead
  • popa
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱsew- →