English
automobile
Automobile comes from French automobile ‘automotive’, from mobile ‘movable’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilis‘movable, loose’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmobile‘movable’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentautomobile‘automotive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1909automobile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilis‘movable, loose’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmobile‘movable’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentautomobile‘automotive’
- Englishearliest quotation 1909automobile
Earliest quotation: 1909, "How Can He Do It?": “The misguided youngsters are yachting, attending the races, playing…”
Formed from auto- ‘self’ + mobile
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew ‘again’
Ancient Greek αὖ ‘Again, anew, afresh, in turn’
Ancient Greek τόν
Ancient Greek αὐτός ‘self’
English auto-
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti
Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
Latin moveō ‘move’
Latin mōbilis ‘easy to be moved’
English mobile
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti
through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
move, momentum, automotive, promoter, emotionless, 87 more
through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’
remove, emotional, promote, remote, motor, promotion, emotion, motive, motivate, motif, removable, motility, emote, motile, 65 more
through Latin mōbilis ‘movable, loose’
through French mobile ‘movable’
Today it means
noun A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- / automobile