Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “litany” come from?

Litany comes from Old French letanie, from Ancient Greek λιτανεία, from Ancient Greek λιτή meaning supplication or entreaty.

litany (English): A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of...

Definitions

  1. A ritual liturgical prayer in which a series of...

Ancestry of “litany”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchletanie—
2Ancient Greekλιτανείαprayer
3Ancient Greek-είᾱ—
4Ancient Greek-ήςadjective suffix
5Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
6Proto-Indo-European-ess—
7Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “litany”

  • litanic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →