Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pencils” come from?

pencils (English) comes from English pencil, from Old French pincil, from Latin pēniculus, from Latin -culus, from Proto-Italic *-kelos.

pencils (English): plural of pencil; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of pencil; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “pencils”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpencilA paintbrush; A writing utensil with a graphite ...
2Old Frenchpincil—
3Latinpēniculus—
4Latin-culusAlternative form of -ulus; added to a noun to...
5Proto-Italic*-kelos—
Every word from Proto-Italic *-kelos →