Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tempest” come from?

Tempest comes from Old French tempeste, from Latin tempestas meaning weather or season, ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root temp- relating to time.

tempest (English): A storm, especially one with severe winds; Any...

Definitions

  1. A storm, especially one with severe winds; Any...

Ancestry of “tempest”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtempestestorm; tempest
2Latintempestatime, season
3Latintempestās—
4Latin-tās—
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
7Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “tempest”

  • tempestite
  • paleotempestology
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →