Avus
/ˈeɪ.vəs/noun
A grandfather or male ancestor, especially in Latin or scientific terminology.
Did you know?Latin avus means “grandfather” and survives in atavus, literally referring to a forefather—the source of English atavism, a reappearance of ancestral traits.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂áwh₂yos
“A grandfather or ancestor; the reconstructed ancestral form is connected with family-line terminology.”
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic
*awos
“Grandfather or male ancestor.”
7th–1st Century BCE
Old Latin
avos
“Grandfather; the early Latin form used before the classical spelling developed.”
1st Century BCE–5th Century CE
Latin
avus
“Grandfather, ancestor, or forefather.”
17th–19th Century
Neo-Latin/English
avus
“A learned Latin borrowing used in scholarly, genealogical, and scientific contexts.”
Modern English
English
avus
“A rare technical or historical term meaning grandfather or male ancestor.”