English
altimeter
Altimeter comes from Latin altus ‘high’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘grow, nourish’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*altosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltus‘high’
- Englishearliest quotation 2000altimeter
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*altosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltus‘high’
- Englishearliest quotation 2000altimeter
Earliest quotation: 2000, Paul E. Illman, The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: “For that reason, if you do any mountain climbing,…”
Formed from -meter
The story
Coined based on Latin altus (‘high’) + -meter.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘grow, nourish’
as, all, else, adult, el, element, alien, ellen, ultra, ultimate, outrage, ou, alumni, qualification, adolescent, abolish, alternate, alpine, alias, alter, alum, alibi, proletariat, alp, alimony, parallax, retaliate, altruism, coalesce, ulterior, aad, foetal, althea, withal, 64 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós
old, elder, auld, eld, 14 more
through Latin altus ‘high’
Today it means
noun An apparatus for measuring altitude.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / altimeter