Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mountains” come from?

mountains (English) comes from English mountain, from Middle English montaigne, from Old French muntaigne, from Vulgar Latin montania, from Latin montanius, from Latin montanus, from Latin mons, from Proto-Indo-European monti.

mountains (English): plural of mountain; mountain range

Definitions

  1. plural of mountain; mountain range

Ancestry of “mountains”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmountainAn elevation of land of considerable dimensions...
2Middle EnglishmontaigneAlternative form of mountayne
3Old Frenchmuntaignemountain
4Vulgar Latinmontaniamountain
5Latinmontaniusmountainous
6Latinmontanusof or pertaining to a mountain, especially—
7Latinmonsmountain, mount; towering mass, heap, great...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmonti—
9PortugueseMonte—
10Old Portuguesemonte—
Every word from Old Portuguese monte →