Where does “veal” come from?
Veal comes from Middle English veel, from Anglo-Norman veel, from Latin vitellus, diminutive of vitulus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wet-, meaning calf or young animal.
veal (English): The flesh of a calf used for food
Definitions
- The flesh of a calf used for food
Ancestry of “veal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | veel | veal; A calf |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | veel | calf |
| 3 | Latin | vitellus | a small calf; the yolk of an egg |
| 4 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |