Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sveltely” come from?

sveltely (English) comes from English svelte, from French svelte, from Italian svelto, from Italian svellere, from Vulgar Latin exvellere, from Latin vellere, from Latin vello, from Proto-Italic welnō — to hit, to strike.

sveltely (English): In a svelte way

Definitions

  1. In a svelte way

Ancestry of “sveltely”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsvelteAttractively thin; gracefully slender; Refined,...
2Frenchsveltethin; slender
3Italiansveltoquick; brisk; quick-witted
4Italiansvellereto eradicate, to root
5Vulgar Latinexvellere—
6Latinvellereablative singular of vellus; second-person...
7LatinvelloI pluck out; I depilate; I pull or tear down; I...
8Proto-Italicwelnō—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwelh₃-to hit, to strike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welh₃- →