The story
- Latin · derived fromAlpes“high mountains, especially those of Switzerland”
- English todayalp
Late Middle English, back-formation from alps pl, via French from Latin Alpes (“high mountains, especially those of Switzerland”). Compare Old Saxon elbon (“Alps”), Old High German Alpūn (“Alps”); Old High German alba (“alp, mountain”)).
Words from the same roots
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.