Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Alps” come from?

Alps derives from Latin Alpes, which is traced to Proto-Indo-European h₂el-, though the original meaning remains uncertain.

Ancestry of “Alps”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishAlpes—
2Middle FrenchAlpes—

Words derived from “Alps”

  • Prealps
Every word from Middle French Alpes →