Where does “letter” come from?

letter (Middle English) comes from Old French letre, from Latin littera, from Latin lītera, from Old Latin leitera, from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH-, from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- — to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

Ancestry of “letter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchletreletter
2Latinlitteraa letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,...
3Latinlītera—
4Old Latinleitera—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂leyH-to smear
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleyh₂-to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,...

Words derived from “letter”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leyh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂leyH- →Every word from Old Latin leitera →