helmet

The story

1. Old French · derived fromhelmet
2. Middle English · inherited fromhelmet
3. English todayhelmet

From Middle English helmet, helmett, a borrowing from Old French helmet, heaumet, a diminutive of helme (Modern French heaume), equivalent to helm + -et. The Old French is itself of Germanic origin (whence Old English helm). Used in English since the 15th century, it has largely displaced helm as the general word.

Words from the same roots