Where does “lintel” come from?

Lintel comes from Middle English lyntel, from Old French lintel, from Latin lintellus, a diminutive of limitellus, itself from limes meaning threshold or boundary.

lintel (English): A horizontal structural beam spanning an opening,...

Definitions

  1. A horizontal structural beam spanning an opening,...

Ancestry of “lintel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlyntel—
2Old Frenchlintellintel (beam)
3Latinlintellus—
4Latinlimitellus—
5Latinlīmeslimit, border, path
6Latinlīmussidelong, askew, askance, sideways
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂leyH-to smear
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleyh₂-to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH- →Every word from Latin līmus →