Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “celebrity” come from?

Celebrity comes from Middle English celebritē, from Old French celebrite, from Latin celebritas, derived from Latin celeber meaning "frequent" or "crowded," with the suffix -tus ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -teh₂ and -tós.

celebrity (English): A rite or ceremony; Fame, renown; the state of...

Definitions

  1. A rite or ceremony; Fame, renown; the state of...

Ancestry of “celebrity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcelebritē—
2Old Frenchcelebrite—
3Latincelebritascrowd, multitude; celebration; fame, renown,...
4Latin-tās—
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
7Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “celebrity”

  • celeb
  • noncelebrity
  • celebrityhood
  • celebritization
  • semicelebrity
  • sleb
  • minicelebrity
  • megacelebrity
  • celebritydom
  • supercelebrity
  • anticelebrity
  • incelebrity
  • pseudocelebrity
  • celebrityship
  • celebricide
  • subcelebrity
  • Celebgate
  • celebritize
  • celebrityness
  • celebritiness
  • celebrityville
  • pro-celeb
  • pro-celebrity
  • cybercelebrity
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →