Where does “ache” come from?
ache (Middle English) comes from Old French ache, from Latin apium, from Latin Apis, from Ancient Greek Ἄπις, from Coptic ϩⲁⲡⲉ, from Egyptian ḥp — the god Apis.
ache (Middle English): Aching; long-lasting hurting or injury; A plant...
Definitions
- Aching; long-lasting hurting or injury; A plant...
Ancestry of “ache”, step by step
ache traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French ache
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | ache | — |
| 2 | Latin | apium | parsley; celery; genitive plural of apis |
| 3 | Latin | Apis | A seaport town of Egypt situated at the borders with Marmarica |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Ἄπις | — |
| 5 | Coptic | ϩⲁⲡⲉ | the Apis bull, a bull worshipped as a herald of the gods (first Ptah, then Osiris, then Atum) |
| 6 | Egyptian | ḥp | the god Apis |