Where does “petty” come from?
Petty comes from Middle English pety, from Middle French petit, from Latin pitittus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European (s)peyk- meaning to cut or divide.
petty (English): Little, small, secondary in rank or importance;...
Definitions
- Little, small, secondary in rank or importance;...
Ancestry of “petty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | peti | Alternative form of pety |
| 2 | Middle French | Petit | — |
| 3 | Old French | petit | small, little; worthless; valueless; poor; of... |
| 4 | Gallo-Romance | pitittus | — |
Words derived from “petty”