Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “butte” come from?

butte (French) comes from French but, from French boire, from Middle French boire, from Old French boivre, from Latin bibere, from Latin bibō, from Latin -ilis, from Proto-Italic -elis — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

butte (French): small hill, mound, hillock; knoll; heap

Definitions

  1. small hill, mound, hillock; knoll; heap

Ancestry of “butte”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbutaim; goal; third-person singular past historic of...
2Frenchboireto drink
3Middle Frenchboireto drink
4Old Frenchboivreto drink; a drink
5Latinbiberethird-person plural perfect active indicative of...
6Latinbibō—
7Latin-ilis-ile
8Proto-Italic-elis—
9Proto-Indo-European-elis—
10Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “butte”

  • butte
  • butter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →