Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “surplice” come from?

Surplice comes from Old French surpeliz, from Latin superpelliceum, combining Latin super with πέλλα, a garment term from Ancient Greek with roots in Proto-Indo-European upo.

surplice (English): A liturgical vestment of the Christian Church. It...

Definitions

  1. A liturgical vestment of the Christian Church. It...

Ancestry of “surplice”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsurplys—
2Old Frenchsurpeliz—
3Medieval Latinsuperpelliceum—
4Latinsuper"accusative" above, on the top of, upon;...
5Latineks-uper—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér
7Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
8Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

Words derived from “surplice”

  • surpliced
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →