English
soldato
Soldato comes from Italian soldato ‘soldier’, from soldo ‘penny, cent’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘whole’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-1‘whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðos1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE(nummus) solidus1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsoldus1
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldo1‘penny, cent’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldare1
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldato1‘soldier’
- Englishtodaysoldato1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English soldato
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-Wiktionary, English soldato‘whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-sWiktionary, English soldatoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðosWiktionary, English soldatoreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE(nummus) solidusWiktionary, English soldato
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsoldusWiktionary, English soldato
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldoWiktionary, English soldato‘penny, cent’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldareWiktionary, English soldato
- Italianc. 1300–presentsoldatoWiktionary, English soldato‘soldier’
- EnglishtodaysoldatoWiktionary, English soldato
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘whole’
save, safe, sage, salvation, holocaust, salute, savior, salvage, salvo, salve, salvia, salutary, salutation, salubrious, 23 more
through Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s
solidarity, consolidate, solidify, solidity, solidification, solidus, 6 more
through Proto-Italic *soliðos
through Latin soldus
Today it means
noun A member of the lowest tier of the Italian Mafia.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “soldato”. 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 *solh₂- / soldato