Where does “ficlet” come from?

ficlet (English) comes from English fic, from English fanfic, from English fan fiction, from English fiction, from Middle English ficcioun, from Old French ficcion, from Latin fictio, from Latin -tiō — limestone; chalk; the finish line.

ficlet (English): A short fic; a short piece of fan fiction or (less commonly) original fiction

Definitions

  1. A short fic; a short piece of fan fiction or (less commonly) original fiction

Ancestry of “ficlet”, step by step

ficlet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English fic

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishficA fictional story set within a preexisting...
2Englishfanficfan fiction; a work of fan fiction
3Englishfan fictionAmateur fiction created by fans, incorporating...
4EnglishfictionLiterary type using invented or imaginative...
5Middle EnglishficciounAn invention or fabrication
6Old Frenchficciondissimulation, ruse, invention
7Latinfictiofashioning, forming, formation; fiction
8Latin-tiōtion, -ation, -ing
9Latindissertātiō(spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition
10Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
11Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
12Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
13Latincalceusshoe
14Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line

via English let

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishletTo allow to, not to prevent; To leave; To allow...
2Middle Englishletento let
3Old Englishlǣtanto let; leave; to let go, leave; to allow, let...
4Proto-West Germaniclātanto let, to allow; to leave alone
5Proto-Germaniclētanąto let, to allow; to leave alone
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₁d-to be tired
Every word from Latin calx
ficlet — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer