Where does “wastepaper” come from?

wastepaper (English) comes from English paper, from Middle English paper, from Old French papier, from Old Catalan paper, from Latin papȳrus, from French -ine, from French -é, from Middle French -é.

wastepaper (English): unwanted paper that has been discarded

Definitions

  1. unwanted paper that has been discarded

Ancestry of “wastepaper”, step by step

wastepaper traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English paper

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpaperA sheet material used for writing on or printing...
2Middle Englishpaperpaper; A text, message or note; something that is...
3Old Frenchpapierto murmur
4Old Catalanpaperpaper sheet material typically used for writing on or printing
5Latinpapȳruspapyrus plant
6French-inefeminine singular of -in; female equivalent of...
7French-épast participle root verb suffix of regular -er...
8Middle French-épast participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n
9Old French-éused to form past participles of regular -er...
10Latin-asuffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent...
11Proto-Italic-āForms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases
12Proto-Indo-European-éh₂—

via English waste

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwasteExcess of material, useless by-products or...
2Middle Englishwastento waste, lay waste
3Old Northern Frenchwasterto waste, devastate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂ →Every word from French -ine →Every word from Latin -a →