Where does “mountaintop” come from?
Mountaintop comes from Middle English montaigne, from Old French muntaine, from Proto-Germanic tuppaz, from Latin mons meaning a high mass of land.
mountaintop (English): The summit of a mountain; Situated or occurring...
Definitions
- The summit of a mountain; Situated or occurring...
Ancestry of “mountaintop”, step by step
mountaintop traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Mountain
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Mountain | a steam locomotive of the 4-8-2 wheel arrangement |
| 2 | Middle English | mountayne | A mountain; a mount or peak; A lump or pile |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | montaigne | — |
| 4 | Latin | montānia | mountainous area |
| 5 | Latin | montem | accusative singular of mōns; mountain |
| 6 | Latin | mons | mountain, mount; towering mass, heap, great... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | monti | — |
| 8 | Portuguese | Monte | mount; a mountain or large hill |
| 9 | Old Portuguese | monte | — |
via English top
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | top | The highest or uppermost part of something; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | top | The summit or top of something, especially a... |
| 3 | Old English | topp | top, summit (of something) |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *topp | top, summit, crest |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tuppaz | tuft, plait; top, summit |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dumb- | tail, rod, staff, pole, penis; tail, rod, staff,... |