Translation
ant
Word origin
From Latin formica, an ant, which is also the source of formic acid, named in 1749 after the substance distilled from crushed ants. English has no everyday descendant of it - ant is Germanic.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- formica
- English cognates
- formic acid
Examples
.
An ant carried a piece of bread to its nest.
.
Many ants were running on the grass.
.
The ant is small but strong.
An ant is not a little form. and formo
are a near-pair - six letters shared, one letter of difference in the middle -
and they have nothing to do with each other. is Latin forma, a shape;
is Latin formica, the insect. Saying it plainly because the eye will
try to make the connection: there is none, and no meaning you can build out of
form- will get you to an ant.
There is also no -ik- suffix here to help. Esperanto's official affix list
has no -ik- at all. The -ik- you see in , and
is part of borrowed international words, not a piece you may attach;
those are roots, and so is this one. - is indivisible.
The real relatives are elsewhere in the vocabulary. A o is an
anthill, built the ordinary way with --, the place suffix. Formika acido
is formic acid, which is the connection English does keep: the acid was named
for the ants it was first distilled from. And in the insect drawer,
insekto is the class,
abelo the bee and
muŝo the fly.
Where this fits
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formiko: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "formiko" (ant): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 51.