Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paint” come from?

Paint comes from Old French paincter, formed from Old French -ier, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root peh₂ǵ-.

paint (English): A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste,...

Definitions

  1. A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste,...

Ancestry of “paint”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpeynten—
2Old Frenchpeint—
3Latinpingō—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpeyḱ-to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to...

Words derived from “paint”

  • painting
  • painter
  • paintbrush
  • painterly
  • repaint
  • paintwork
  • paintball
  • underpainting
  • greasepaint
  • paintable
  • housepainter
  • paintbox
  • paintless
  • paintress
  • sandpainting
  • painty
  • overpaint
  • unpaintable
  • painterliness
  • housepainting
  • fingerpaint
  • bepaint
  • paintest
  • paintability
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peyḱ- →