Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bullet” come from?

Bullet comes from Middle French -el, from Latin bulla meaning a rounded object or bubble, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.

bullet (English): A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun...

Definitions

  1. A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun...

Ancestry of “bullet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-etUsed to form diminutives, loosely construed
2Middle English-etForms diminutive nouns from nouns; in some words,...
3Old French-etUsed to form a diminutive, masculine noun;...
4Latin-ātus—
5Proto-Italic-ātos—
6Proto-Indo-European-éh₂tos—

Words derived from “bullet”

  • bulletproof
  • bullethole
  • bulletlike
  • bulletless
  • bulletwood
  • bulletize
  • antibullet
  • bullet
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂tos →