Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "oral" come from? It comes from Late Latin oralis, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "oral" come from? It comes from Late Latin oralis, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).
Oral’s story begins in Late Latin: oralis meant “of the mouth.” From 'os', mouth. It reached English by 1620s as oral. 'oral history' dates from the 1940s. Today, oral means spoken; relating to the mouth.
- Stage 1 · Late Latin · ancient oralis "of the mouth", from 'os', mouth.
- Stage 2 · English · 1620s oral "spoken", 'oral history' dates from the 1940s.