Where does “spice” come from?
Spice comes from Middle English spice, from Old French espice, from Latin species meaning appearance or kind, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- meaning to observe or look.
spice (English): Aromatic or pungent plant matter used to season...
Definitions
- Aromatic or pungent plant matter used to season...
Ancestry of “spice”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | spice | spices; A variety, sort, or kind of something; A... |
| 2 | Old French | espice | spice |
| 3 | Late Latin | species | spice, good, ware; a seeing, view, look; a... |
| 4 | Classical Latin | speciēs | — |
Words derived from “spice”