English
armadillo
Armadillo comes from Spanish armado ‘armored’, from Latin armō ‘to furnish with weapons, arm, equip’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarma
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmō‘to furnish with weapons, arm, equip’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmātus
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500armado
- Spanishc. 1500–presentarmado‘armored’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentarmadillodiminutive of armado
- Englishearliest quotation 2013armadillo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂(e)rmosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*armosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarma
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmō‘to furnish with weapons, arm, equip’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarmātus
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500armado
- Spanishc. 1500–presentarmado‘armored’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentarmadillodiminutive of armado
- Englishearliest quotation 2013armadillo
Earliest quotation: 2013, Nick Miroff, Mexico gets a taste for eating insects …: “The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous…”
The story
Borrowed from Spanish armadillo, diminutive of armado (‘armored’), in reference to its protective plates.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’
order, reason, rate, ready, art, article, artist, ratio, arm, ordinary, alarm, coordination, harmony, coordinate, arthritis, articulate, anarchy, ornament, subordinate, ordination, arithmetic, ornate, inertia, aristocratic, inert, artisan, harmonic, articulation, harmonious, adorn, ordinate, rta, ordinator, rime, ordinal, ordain, artifice, ordo, harmonize, archon, 76 more
through Latin arma
through Latin armō ‘to furnish with weapons, arm, equip’
armor, armament, armature, 4 more
through Latin armātus
Today it means
noun Any of the burrowing mammals in the families Dasypodidae, Chlamyphoridae, Tolypeutidae and Euphractidae in the order Cingulata, found in the Americas, especially South America, and covered with bony, jointed protective plates.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / armadillo