coryphaeus

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱerh₂-“head, top; horn”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromκορυφαῖος“leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”
3. Latin · borrowed fromcoryphaeus
4. English todaycoryphaeus

Borrowed from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaîos, “leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”), from κορυφή (koruphḗ, “top of the head, crown”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘belonging to, pertaining to’).

Words from the same roots