Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “costly” come from?

Costly comes from Middle English costly, a derivative of cost, ultimately from Old French coste meaning "expense" or "price."

costly (English): Of high cost; expensive

Definitions

  1. Of high cost; expensive

Ancestry of “costly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcostly—

Words derived from “costly”

  • costliness
  • uncostly
  • uncostliness
  • overcostly
Every word from Middle English costly →