Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “triangle” come from?

triangle (Middle English) comes from Old French triangle, from Latin triangulum, from Latin triangulus, from Latin Angulus, from Proto-Indo-European h₂engulos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eng- — curve, bend.

Ancestry of “triangle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtriangle—
2Latintriangulumtriangle; nominative neuter singular of...
3Latintriangulustriangular, three-cornered, three-sided;...
4LatinAngulus—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂engulosjoint?
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eng-curve, bend
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eng- →