Where does “billet” come from?
Billet comes from Middle French billette, from Latin bulla meaning sealed document or bubble, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel- meaning to swell.
billet (English): A short informal letter; A written order to...
Definitions
- A short informal letter; A written order to...
Ancestry of “billet”, step by step
billet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French billette
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | billette | small ball; a game using small balls; firewood;... |
| 2 | Old French | billette | billet |
| 3 | Old French | bille | stick; baton; written decree, announcement |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | billia | — |
| 5 | Gaulish | bilia | tall tree |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | belyom | tree |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰolh₃yom | leaf |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via Middle English bylet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bylet | — |