Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. The flesh of a calf used for food

Ancestry of “veal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishveelveal; A calf
2Anglo-Normanveelcalf
3Latinvitellusa small calf; the yolk of an egg
4Latin-lusAlternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix
5Proto-Italic-elos—
6Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “veal”

  • vealy
  • vealer
  • vealburger
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →