Where does “varmint” come from?
Varmint is a dialectal variant of vermin, which comes from Latin vermis meaning worm, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wr̥mis derived from the root wer-.
varmint (English): A pestering animal such as one that kills or...
Definitions
- A pestering animal such as one that kills or...
Ancestry of “varmint”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | vermin | Any one of various common types of small insects... |
| 2 | Middle English | vermyn | Dangerous or foul animals; beasts or pests |
| 3 | Old French | vermine | vermin |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | verminum | vermin |
| 5 | Latin | vermis | a worm |
| 6 | Latin | fugāre | — |
| 7 | Latin | fugere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | fugiō | to flee |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewg- | to flee; to enjoy, benefit |