Where does “relic” come from?

Relic comes from Middle English relicke, meaning the remains of a deceased person or object of religious veneration.

relic (English): That which remains; that which is left after loss...

Definitions

  1. That which remains; that which is left after loss...

Ancestry of “relic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrelikrelic object of religious veneration
2Old Frenchreliquerelic
3Latinreliquiaeremains, relics; remnants; survivors
4Latinrelinquōto abandon, forsake, desert
5Latinlinquōto leave, quit, forsake, depart from
6Proto-Italiclinkʷōleave
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlinékʷtito be leaving
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleykʷ-to leave

Words derived from “relic”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leykʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European linékʷti →Every word from Proto-Italic linkʷō →