avalanche

The story

1. Latin · derived fromlābēs
2. Late Latin · derived fromlābīna“landslide”
3. Vulgar Latin · derived from*labanka
4. French · borrowed fromavalanche
5. English todayavalanche

From French avalanche, from Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval (“downhill”) and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (compare Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Late Latin lābīna (“landslide”) (compare Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansh lavina), from Latin lābēs, from lābor (“to slip, slide”).

Words from the same roots