Where does “films” come from?

Films comes from Old English filmen, from Proto-Germanic filminją, from Proto-Indo-European pel(w)-, ultimately from the root pel- meaning to stretch or spread.

films (English): plural of film; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of film; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “films”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfilmA thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a...
2Middle Englishfilmefilm, membrane
3Old Englishfilmenmembrane; caul; foreskin
4Proto-West Germanic*filmīn-—
5Proto-Germanic*filmīn-—
Every word from Proto-Germanic *filmīn- →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *filmīn- →Every word from Old English filmen →