Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “lentil” come from?

lentil (Middle English) comes from Middle English lentile, from Old French lentille, from Vulgar Latin lenticla, from Latin lenticula, from Latin -ella, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

lentil (Middle English): Alternative form of lentile

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of lentile

Ancestry of “lentil”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishlentileThe seed of the lentil used as food
2Old Frenchlentillelentil
3Vulgar Latinlenticla—
4Latinlenticulalentil
5Latin-ellainflection of -ellus: ## nominative/vocative...
6Latin-ellusAlternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine...
7Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
8Proto-Italic-olos—
9Proto-Italic-elos—
10Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
11Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →