Where does “palterly” come from?
palterly (English) comes from English palter, from Middle English palter, from Middle Low German palter, from Old Saxon paltro, from Proto-Germanic paltrô.
palterly (English): Mean; paltry
Ancestry of “palterly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | palter | To talk insincerely; to prevaricate or equivocate... |
| 2 | Middle English | palter | rag, trifle, worthless thing |
| 3 | Middle Low German | palter | rag, cloth |
| 4 | Old Saxon | paltro | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | paltrô | — |