Where does “plaintif” come from?

plaintif (Middle English) comes from Old French plaintif, from Old French plaindre, from Latin plangere, from Latin plangō, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₂k- — to beat, strike; to strike, fast; to beat, hit,...

Ancestry of “plaintif”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchplaintifcomplaining; as a noun, one who complains, a...
2Old Frenchplaindreto cry; to weep
3Latinplangeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
4Latinplangōto strike, beat, flap
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₂k-to beat, strike; to strike, fast; to beat, hit,...

Words derived from “plaintif”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₂k- →Every word from Latin plangō →Every word from Latin plangere →