Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “parcel” come from?

Parcel comes from Old French parcelle, from Vulgar Latin particella, from Latin particula meaning a small part, from pars meaning part, from Proto-Indo-European per- and pr̥tós.

parcel (English): A package wrapped for shipment; An individual...

Definitions

  1. A package wrapped for shipment; An individual...

Ancestry of “parcel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchparcellea small piece or part, a parcel, a particle
2Latinparticella—
3Latinparticulasmall part, particle
4Latinparspart, side, piece, share; some; faction
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “parcel”

  • passel
  • parcellation
  • parcellate
  • multiparcel
  • parcelwise
  • subparcellate
  • ပါဆယ်
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →