Etymology

alveolus

A1L1V4E1O1L1U1S1

Today it means: Any of the many tiny air sacs in the lungs in which the bronchioles terminate and where oxygen and carbon dioxide are rapidly exchanged with the pulmonary capillaries. Full definition →

Latin alveolus ← Proto-Italic *alwos? ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewlós
  2. Proto-Italic*aulos?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  4. Proto-Italic*alwos?
  5. Latinalvus
  6. Latinalveus
  7. Latinalveolus
  8. English todayalveolus

Borrowed from Latin alveolus (“a small hollow or cavity”), diminutive of alveus (“a hollow, cavity”).

Words from the same roots

Latinalveolus all →

alveolarealveoliform

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.