Where does “plot” come from?

plot (Dutch) comes from English plot, from Middle English plot, from Old English plot, from Proto-Germanic plataz, from Proto-Indo-European b(e)lad- — to strike, beat.

plot (Dutch): plot (course of a story)

Definitions

  1. plot (course of a story)

Ancestry of “plot”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishplotThe course of a story, comprising a series of...
2Middle Englishplotplot of land
3Old Englishplota plot of ground
4Proto-Germanicplatazslap, strike, blow
5Proto-Indo-Europeanb(e)lad-to strike, beat
Every word from Proto-Indo-European b(e)lad- →Every word from Proto-Germanic plataz →Every word from Old English plot →