Where does “pet” come from?

Petty comes from Middle English pety, from Middle French petit, from Latin pitittus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)peyk- meaning to cut or separate.

pet (English): An animal kept as a companion; Something kept as...

Definitions

  1. An animal kept as a companion; Something kept as...

Ancestry of “pet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpettyLittle, small, secondary in rank or importance;...
2Middle EnglishpetiAlternative form of pety
3Middle FrenchPetitsmall
4Old Frenchpetitsmall, little; worthless; valueless; poor; of...
5Gallo-Romancepitittus—
Every word from Gallo-Romance pitittus →