protoword

P3R1O1T1O1W4O1R1D2

noun

An early wordlike utterance produced by an infant before it has acquired a true language.

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Meanings

nounprotoword (plural protowords)

plural protowords

  1. human sciencesAn early wordlike utterance produced by an infant before it has acquired a true language.
  2. human sciencesA wordlike utterance produced by early people who had yet to develop full language capability; a word from a proto-language.

Origin

From proto- + word.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

protoword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoword

MLA

“protoword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoword. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protoword,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoword.

Source: protoword on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.