Etymology

alps

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Today it means: A mountain range in Western Europe, running from France to Slovenia, the highest peak of which is Mont Blanc, at 4808 metres. Full definition →

Middle English Alpes ← Middle French Alpes ← Latin Alpēs
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The story

  1. LatinAlpēs
  2. Middle FrenchAlpes
  3. Middle EnglishAlpes
  4. English todayAlps

From Middle English Alpes, from Old English Alpis, ultimately from Latin Alpēs; in later use partly via French. Compare German Alpen (“alps”, plurale tantum), German Alp (“mountainous pasture”).

Words from the same roots

LatinAlpēs all →

alpAlpianArpitan

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.