flathe

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pleth₂-“broad, flat”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*flaþō“flatcake”
3. Old English · inherited from*flaþa
4. Middle English · inherited fromflathe“flat fish”
5. English todayflathe

From Middle English flathe (“flat fish”), from Old English *flaþa ("flatcake"; found only in compound flæþecomb, fleþecomb (“weaver's comb”)), from Proto-West Germanic *flaþō (“flatcake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Dutch vla, vlade (“baked custard, pancake”), Middle Low German vlade (“flatcake”), German Fladen (“a flatcake, cowpatty”). Related to flan.

Words from the same roots