Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rumour” come from?

Rumour comes from Old French rumeur, from Latin rumor meaning "noise" or "talk," from Proto-Italic roumōs, from Proto-Indo-European rewH-.

rumour (English): Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and...

Definitions

  1. Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and...

Ancestry of “rumour”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrumour—
2Old Frenchrumeur—
3Latinrumorrumor; rustle, murmur, a murmuring; The voice of...
4Proto-Italicroumōs—
5Proto-Indo-European*h₃rewH-—

Words derived from “rumour”

  • rumourer
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewH- →