Where does “payroll” come from?
Payroll derives from English pay and roll, with pay tracing to Old French peier, Latin picare, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European ret-, while roll derives from Old French rolle, Latin rotula, and Latin rota.
payroll (English): A list of employees who receive salary or wages,...
Definitions
- A list of employees who receive salary or wages,...
Ancestry of “payroll”, step by step
payroll traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English roll
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | roll | To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to... |
| 2 | Middle English | rolle | — |
| 3 | Old French | rolle | registration |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | rotulus | a roll, list, catalogue, schedule, record, a... |
| 5 | Latin | rotula | a small wheel; roll |
| 6 | Arabic | رَطْل | — |
| 7 | Classical Syriac | ܪܝܛܠܐ | — |
| 8 | Classical Syriac | ܠܝܛܪܐ | libra, pound |
| 9 | French | litre | litre |
| 10 | Medieval Latin | litra | — |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | λίτρα | litra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of... |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | *līðrā | ingot |
via English pay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pay | To give money or other compensation to in... |
| 2 | Middle English | payen | pagan |
| 3 | Old French | paiier | to pay |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | pacare | to settle, satisfy; present active infinitive of... |
| 5 | Latin | pācāre | — |
| 6 | Latin | pāx | peace |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | pāks | peace |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | péh₂ḱ-s | peace |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂ḱ- | to join, to attach; agreement, settlement |