Where does “limpet” come from?
Limpet comes from Middle English lempet, from Old English lempedu, from Medieval Latin lampreda, from Late Latin lampetra, ultimately from Latin petra meaning "stone" and Ancient Greek πέτρα, derived from Proto-Indo-European leh₂b-.
limpet (English): A small mollusc, of the family Patellidae with a...
Definitions
- A small mollusc, of the family Patellidae with a...
Ancestry of “limpet”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lempet | — |
| 2 | Old English | lempedu | lamprey |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | lampreda | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | lampetra | lamprey |
| 5 | Latin | lambere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 6 | Latin | lambo | I lick, lap; I taste |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂b- | to hang loosely; to lap, lick |
Words derived from “limpet”