Etymograph

English

rotella

Rotella comes from Late Latin rotella ‘small wheel’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- ‘to run, roll’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreth₂-1‘to run, roll’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hróth₂-eh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rotā1reconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErota2‘wheel’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErotella2‘small wheel’diminutive of rota
  6. Englishtodayrotella2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin rota
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English rotella

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreth₂-Wiktionary, Latin rota‘to run, roll’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hróth₂-eh₂Wiktionary, Latin rotareconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rotāWiktionary, Latin rotareconstructed
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErotaWiktionary, English rotella‘wheel’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErotellaWiktionary, English rotella‘small wheel’diminutive of rota
  6. EnglishtodayrotellaWiktionary, English rotella

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- ‘to run, roll’

rash, rotate, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *rotā

rotavirus, 11 more

through Late Latin rota ‘wheel’

roll, rotation, rodeo, rotary, rota, rueda, rotund, 12 more

Today it means

noun A disc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rotella”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin rota. 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 *Hreth₂- / rotella

Shirt and support for this word