Where does “prairie” come from?
prairie (Dutch) comes from English prairie, from French prairie, from Old French praerie, from Portuguese prataria, from Portuguese prata, from Old Portuguese prata, from Vulgar Latin platta, from Latin plattus — flat.
prairie (Dutch): prairie
Ancestry of “prairie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | prairie | An extensive area of relatively flat grassland... |
| 2 | French | prairie | meadow, grassland, pasture, prairie |
| 3 | Old French | praerie | meadow |
| 4 | Portuguese | prataria | silverware; cutlery; plates, dishes collectively |
| 5 | Portuguese | prata | silver; one hundred cents of current currency... |
| 6 | Old Portuguese | prata | silver |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | platta | metal plate |
| 8 | Latin | plattus | flattened |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | πλατύς | wide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pléth₂us | flat, broad |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pleth₂- | flat |
Words derived from “prairie”