Where does “plateau” come from?
plateau (French) comes from French plat, from Middle French plat, from Old French plat, from Vulgar Latin plattus, from Ancient Greek πλατύς, from Proto-Indo-European pléth₂us, from Proto-Indo-European pleth₂- — flat.
plateau (French): flat area; tray; plateau
Definitions
- flat area; tray; plateau
Ancestry of “plateau”, step by step
plateau traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French plat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | plat | flat; a flat area of ground; a flat thing; a flat... |
| 2 | Middle French | plat | flat |
| 3 | Old French | plat | a footbridge |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | plattus | flattened; flat; smooth |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πλατύς | wide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pléth₂us | flat, broad |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pleth₂- | flat |
via Latin plattus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | plattus | flattened |