Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “plummet” come from?

Plummet comes from Middle English plommet, from Old French plommet, diminutive of Old French plum, from Latin plumbum, from Ancient Greek μόλυβδος.

plummet (English): A piece of lead attached to a line, used in...

Definitions

  1. A piece of lead attached to a line, used in...

Ancestry of “plummet”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishplommetball of lead", "plumb of a bob-line
2Old Frenchplommet—
3Old Frenchplom—
4Latinplumbumlead; ball of lead; pipe of lead
5Ancient Greekμόλυβδοςlead; graphite
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmorkʷ-iyo-—

Words derived from “plummet”

  • unplummetable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European morkʷ-iyo- →