Etymograph

English

camino

Camino comes from Spanish camino ‘way, route’, and goes back to Proto-Celtic *kanxsman ‘step, act of stepping’.

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*kanxsman1‘step, act of stepping’reconstructed
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*kamman1reconstructed
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cammīnus2‘way’
  4. Old Spanishc. 950–1500camino2
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentcamino3‘way, route’
  6. Englishtodaycamino3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin camminus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Spanish camino
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English camino

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*kanxsmanWiktionary, Latin camminus‘step, act of stepping’reconstructed
  2. Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*kammanWiktionary, Latin camminusreconstructed
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cammīnusWiktionary, Spanish camino‘way’
  4. Old Spanishc. 950–1500caminoWiktionary, Spanish camino
  5. Spanishc. 1500–presentcaminoWiktionary, English camino‘way, route’
  6. EnglishtodaycaminoWiktionary, English camino

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to step’

gang, jay, gong, gan, ging, 12 more

Today it means

noun The route followed on a pilgrimage through Spain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “camino”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin camminus, Spanish camino. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Celtic *kanxsman / camino

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