Etymology

convolution

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Today it means: A twist or fold. Full definition →

Latin convolūtus ← Proto-Italic *wolwō ← Proto-Indo-European *welH-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*welH-
  7. Proto-Italic*wolwō
  8. Latinvolvō
  9. Latinconvolvō
  10. Latinconvolūtus
  11. English todayconvolution

Borrowed from Latin convolutus (“to roll together”), past participle of convolvere, from con- + volvere (“to roll”), with the suffix -tion. Equivalent to convolute + -ion. The mathematical sense is a semantic calque from Faltung.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.