Where does “velvet” come from?
Velvet comes from Old French veluotte, derived from Latin villus meaning "shaggy hair or nap," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂welh₁-.
velvet (English): A closely woven fabric with a thick short pile...
Definitions
- A closely woven fabric with a thick short pile...
Ancestry of “velvet”, step by step
velvet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English velvet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | velvet | velvet; Clothes made of velvet |
| 2 | Old Occitan | veluet | — |
| 3 | Late Latin | villutittus | — |
| 4 | Latin | villutus | shaggy, hairy |
| 5 | Latin | villus | hair, tuft of hair, shaggy hair |
| 6 | Latin | vellus | The wool shorn from a sheep; fleece; wool; The... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂welh₁- | to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool |
via Old French veluotte
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | veluotte | — |