Etymology

caltrop

C3A1L1T1R1O1P3

Today it means: A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge). Full definition →

Middle English calketrappe ← Old English calcatrippe ← Medieval Latin calcatrippa
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcalx
  2. Medieval Latin · derived fromcalcatrippa“thistle”
  3. Old English · inherited fromcalcatrippe
  4. Middle English · inherited fromcalketrappe
  5. English todaycaltrop

From Middle English calketrappe, from Old English calcatrippe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (“thistle”), from Latin calx or calcare (“to tread”) + trappa (“trap”).

Words from the same roots

Latincalx all →

calciumchalkcausewaycalcitecalichecalcaneumcalcographycalthemitecalx

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.