Where does “bounty” come from?
Bounty comes from Middle English bounte, from Old French bunté meaning generosity, from Latin bonitas meaning goodness, derived from the adjective bonus meaning good, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dew- meaning to divide or apportion.
bounty (English): Generosity; also an act of generosity; Something...
Definitions
- Generosity; also an act of generosity; Something...
Ancestry of “bounty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bounte | goodness |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | bounté | Alternative form of bunté |
| 3 | Latin | bonitatem | accusative singular of bonitās |
| 4 | Latin | bonitas | The good quality of something; goodness,... |
| 5 | Latin | bonus | good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant;... |
| 6 | Old Latin | duenos | Alternative form of duonus |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | dwenos | good |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dew- | to show favour, revere; to fail, to lag, to be... |