Where does “lint” come from?
Lint comes from Middle English linet, from Old French linette, from Old French lin meaning flax or linen.
lint (English): A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen...
Definitions
- A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen...
Ancestry of “lint”, step by step
lint traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English lynet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lynet | lint; linen; flax or fabric made of it |
| 2 | Old French | linette | grain of flax |
| 3 | Old French | lin | line |
| 4 | Latin | līnea | A linen thread |
| 5 | Latin | līnum | flax |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | līnom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | līnom | flax |
via Dutch linde
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | linde | linden, tree of the genus "Tilia" |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | linde | — |
| 3 | Old Dutch | linda | — |
| 4 | Karelian | lindu | bird |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lindō | linden tree |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lent- | tree with supple branches; supple; bendsome,... |
Words derived from “lint”