Where does “libel” come from?
libel (Dutch) comes from Latin libellus, from Latin Līber, from Old Latin loeber, from French lober, from French lob, from English lob, from English long, from English longitude — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
libel (Dutch): dragonfly, insect of the infraorder Anisoptera;...
Definitions
- dragonfly, insect of the infraorder Anisoptera;...
Ancestry of “libel”, step by step
libel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin libellus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | libellus | a little book, booklet, pamphlet; a billet,... |
| 2 | Latin | Līber | — |
| 3 | Old Latin | loeber | — |
| 4 | French | lober | to lob |
| 5 | French | lob | lob |
| 6 | English | lob | To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high... |
| 7 | English | long | Having much distance from one terminating point... |
| 8 | English | longitude | Angular distance measured west or east of the... |
| 9 | Old French | longitude | — |
| 10 | Latin | longitūdō | length, longitude; longness |
| 11 | Latin | longus | far, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,... |
| 12 | Latin | -ē | ly; used to form adverbs from adjectives |
| 13 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 14 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 15 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 16 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |