Where does “ramasse-miettes” come from?

ramasse-miettes (French) comes from French ramasse, from French ramasser, from French amasser, from Old French amasser — to collect up; to get together.

ramasse-miettes (French): utensil which is used for picking up crumbs on a table at the end of a meal

Definitions

  1. utensil which is used for picking up crumbs on a table at the end of a meal

Ancestry of “ramasse-miettes”, step by step

ramasse-miettes traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French ramasse

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchramassefirst-person singular present indicative of...
2Frenchramasserto pick up; to collect, gather; to huddle up, to...
3Frenchamasserto amass; to gather up
4Old Frenchamasserto collect up; to get together

via French miettes

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmiettes
Every word from Old French amasserEvery word from French amasserEvery word from French ramasser