Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “plateau” come from?

Plateau comes from French plateau, derived from French plat meaning flat, from Latin -ellus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pléth₂us meaning broad or wide.

plateau (English): A largely level expanse of land at a high...

Definitions

  1. A largely level expanse of land at a high...

Ancestry of “plateau”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchplateauflat area; tray; plateau
2French-eauforming diminutive masculine nouns, especially...
3Middle French-eau—
4Old French-elSuffix that usually denotes a masculine noun
5Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
6Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
7Proto-Italic-olos—
8Proto-Italic-elos—
9Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “plateau”

  • Filato
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →