Where does “subtlety” come from?
Subtlety comes from Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, from Latin subtilitas, derived from the adjective subtilis meaning thin or fine, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root upo meaning under or up from below.
subtlety (English): The quality of being subtle; An instance of being...
Definitions
- The quality of being subtle; An instance of being...
Ancestry of “subtlety”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sotilte | Mental power or ability; smartness or cleverness;... |
| 2 | Old French | sutilté | — |
| 3 | Latin | subtīlitās | fineness, thinness, slenderness, minuteness |
| 4 | Latin | subtīlis | fine, thin, slender |
| 5 | Latin | tēla | web |
| 6 | Old Dutch | tegela | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *tigulā | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tigulǭ | tile; brick |
| 9 | Latin | tēgula | a large, flat and heavy roof tile used in an overlapping formation with the curved and smaller imbrex |
| 10 | Latin | tegō | to cover; to clothe |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | tegō | cover |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)teg- | to cover; pole, stick, beam |