Etymograph

English

cartolina

Cartolina comes from Spanish cartulina ‘thin cardboard or paperboard’, from Italian cartolina ‘attendance card’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘to scratch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-1‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσω1khărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτης2‘papyrus, paper’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcharta2‘papyrus, paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcarta3‘paper’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcartolina3‘attendance card’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentcartulina3‘thin cardboard or paperboard’
  8. Englishtodaycartolina3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Italian carta
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cartolina

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰer-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantraine‘to scratch’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχᾰρᾰ́σσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek χάρτης, which cites Beekes, Chantrainekhărắssō‘to scratch’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχάρτηςWiktionary, Italian carta‘papyrus, paper’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEchartaWiktionary, Italian carta‘papyrus, paper’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentcartaWiktionary, English cartolina‘paper’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcartolinaWiktionary, English cartolina‘attendance card’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentcartulinaWiktionary, English cartolina‘thin cardboard or paperboard’
  8. EnglishtodaycartolinaWiktionary, English cartolina

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘to scratch’

girl, rocket, chronic, chorus, synchronous, crony, synchronize, urchin, cron, germanium, 33 more

through Ancient Greek χάρτης ‘papyrus, paper’

charter, 12 more

through Latin charta ‘papyrus, paper’

card, chart, cartridge, cartel, carte, cartography, 10 more

through Italian carta ‘paper’

cartouche, 3 more

Today it means

noun A large sheet of colored paper (usually in rolls).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cartolina”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek χάρτης, Italian carta. 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-Indo-European *ǵʰer- / cartolina

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