Spanish etymology in numbers
- English
- Latin
- French
- Ancient Greek
- Italian
- German
- Spanish
- Dutch
- Old Church Slavonic
- Aromanian
- Hungarian
- Russian
- Old English
- Biblical Hebrew
- Proto-Indo-European
- Albanian
- Middle English
- Old Norse
- Romanian
Counted from the etymologies of the 27 Spanish entries in this dictionary, and recounted every few hours as entries are added. See also Spanish words by origin.
Borrowed, inherited or formed
Each entry counted once: as borrowed if its etymology names a language it was taken from, else as inherited, else as formed within Spanish.
- Borrowed 11% · 3 taken from another language
- Inherited 81% · 22 passed down from an ancestor of Spanish
- Formed in Spanish 4% · 1 compounds and derivatives of its own words
- Not traced yet 4% · 1 no etymology links yet
Ultimate origins by language family
Where the 27 traced words end up when their etymologies are followed back as far as they go, from entry to entry, grouped into families and the branches of Indo-European.
- Italic 12 · 44% Latin 9 · Proto-Italic 2 · Spanish 1
- Indo-European 11 · 41% Proto-Indo-European 11
- Hellenic 2 · 7% Ancient Greek 2
- Germanic 1 · 4% Proto-Germanic 1
- Unclassified 1 · 4% Frankish 1
When the words arrived
The 27 entries with a first-attestation date, by century and by the language each was borrowed from. Browse the words of each century →
- Latin
- French
- Inherited or formed
- Not traced
Show as a table
| Century | Latin | French | Inherited or formed | Not traced | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th century | 6 | 6 | |||
| 11th century | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 12th century | 12 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 13th century | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 15th century | 1 | 1 | |||
| 17th century | 1 | 1 |
Words other languages took from Spanish
134 entries of other languages in this dictionary were borrowed from Spanish or its earlier stages.
Most prolific roots
The words that the most Spanish entries go back to, at the far end of their etymologies.
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *Hru-n-p- → romper
- 1 Proto-Italic *akʷā → agua
- 1 Latin *captio → cazar
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰ-uh₂ → lengua
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰ(e)mōn → hombre
- 1 Proto-Italic *es-to- → este
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *h₂ueh₁-nt-o- → viento
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *h₃e/okʷ-(e)lo- → ojo
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-ro- → caro
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *káput → cabo
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *sen-(o-) → señor
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *sh₁p-i- → saber
- 1 Proto-Indo-European *swépnos → sueño
- 1 Proto-Germanic *wardōn → guardar
- 1 Frankish *werʀu → guerra
Longest journeys
The Spanish words whose etymologies pass through the most languages, followed from entry to entry.
- este 4 languages
French est ← Old English east ← Latin iste ← Proto-Italic *es-to-
- lengua 4 languages
Old Spanish lengua ← Latin lingua ← Proto-Italic *dn̥χ(u)wā- ← Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰ-uh₂
- señor 3 languages
Latin senior ← Latin senex ← Proto-Italic *sen-ek- ← Proto-Indo-European *sen-(o-)
- cabo 3 languages
Latin caput ← Proto-Italic *kaput ← Proto-Indo-European *káput
- caro 3 languages
Latin carus ← Proto-Italic *kāro- ← Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-ro-
- guerra 3 languages
Old Spanish guerra ← Latin werra ← Frankish *werʀu
- hombre 3 languages
Latin homo ← Proto-Italic *χemō ← Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰ(e)mōn
- hora 3 languages
Latin hora ← Ancient Greek ὥρα ← Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥
- más 3 languages
Latin magis ← Proto-Italic *magis ← Ancient Greek μαγίς
- ojo 3 languages
Latin oculus ← Proto-Italic *ok(e)lo- ← Proto-Indo-European *h₃e/okʷ-(e)lo-