English
velocity
Velocity comes from Latin vēlōcitās ‘speed’, from vēlōx ‘fast’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-‘to blow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-lo-‘wind’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlōx‘fast’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlōcitās‘speed’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vélocité
- Englishearliest quotation 1997velocity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-‘to blow’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weh₁-lo-‘wind’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlōx‘fast’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlōcitās‘speed’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vélocité
- Englishearliest quotation 1997velocity
Earliest quotation: 1997, Thomas Pynchon, New York: Henry Holt and Company: “Over the winter-solid Roads, goes a great seething,— of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’
event, winter, weather, wind, van, wing, athletic, athlete, ventilation, ventilate, 8 more
Today it means
noun A vector quantity that denotes the rate of change of position with respect to time, combining speed with a directional component.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- / velocity