Etymology

palmetto

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Today it means: Any of various fan palms of the family Arecaceae, especially Sabal palmetto or the saw palmetto, Serenoa repens. Full definition →

First used 16th c.Spanish palmito ← Latin palma
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompalma
  2. Spanish · borrowed frompalmito
  3. English todaypalmetto

From Spanish palmito, diminutive of palma (“palm tree”), from Latin palma. Doublet of palmite and palmito.

Words from the same roots

Spanishpalmito all →

palmito

Latinpalma all →

palmpalma Christipalmitic acid

First known use, by meaning

  • from 16th c. Any of various fan palms of the family Arecaceae, especially Sabal palmetto or the saw palmetto, Serenoa repens.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.