Etymology

kent

K5E1N1T1

Today it means: A shepherd's staff. Full definition →

Middle English Kent ← Old English Cent ← Latin Cantium
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

kent · noun, verb1

Perhaps a variant of the verb cant.

Kent · proper noun2

  1. Proto-Celtic · derived from*kantos“corner, rim”
  2. Latin · derived fromCantium
  3. Old English · inherited fromCent
  4. Middle English · inherited fromKent
  5. English todayKent

Inherited from Middle English Kent, from Old English Cent, from Latin Cantium, from Brythonic *Cantio (compare Old Irish céite (“gathering, folkmoot, hillock”)), from Proto-Celtic *kantos (“corner, rim”).

Words from the same roots

Old EnglishCent all →

Kendal

Proto-Celtic*kantos all →

Cantabria

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.