Where does “castle” come from?
castle (Middle English) comes from Middle English castel, from Old English castel, from Breton kastell, from Italian castello, from Latin castellum, from Latin castrum, from Proto-Italic kastrom, from Proto-Indo-European ḱos-tróm — to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to...
castle (Middle English): Alternative form of castel
Definitions
- Alternative form of castel
Ancestry of “castle”, step by step
castle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English castel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | castel | castle |
| 2 | Old English | castel | town; village; castle |
| 3 | Breton | kastell | castle |
| 4 | Italian | castello | castle |
| 5 | Latin | castellum | castle, fort, citadel, fortress, stronghold; a... |
| 6 | Latin | castrum | castle, fort, fortress; camp, especially a... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kastrom | knife |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱos-tróm | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱes- | to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to... |