Where does “picture” come from?
Picture comes from Middle English pycture, from Old French picture, from Latin pictura, the noun form of pictus, past participle of pingere, meaning to paint or depict, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root peh₂ǵ-.
picture (English): A representation of anything upon canvas, paper,...
Definitions
- A representation of anything upon canvas, paper,...
Ancestry of “picture”, step by step
picture traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English pycture
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | pycture | — |
| 2 | Old French | picture | — |
| 3 | Latin | pictūra | painting, the art of painting |
| 4 | Latin | pingō | to decorate, adorn, embellish |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | peyḱ- | to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to... |
via Middle English picture
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | picture | The act or discipline of drawing or painting |