pelt

pelt · noun, verb¹

1. Late Latin · derived frompeletta
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pel-“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”
3. Latin · derived frompellis“animal skin, hide, pelt; leather; garment made of animal skin”
4. Old French · derived frompelete
5. Anglo-Norman · derived frompelette
6. Middle English · inherited frompellet“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”
7. Middle English · inherited frompelt“skin of a sheep, especially without the wool”
8. English todaypelt

The noun is inherited from Middle English pelt (“skin of a sheep, especially without the wool”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: * from Middle English pellet (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”), from Anglo-Norman pelette, pellet, and Old French pelete, pelette (“thin layer, film, skin; epidermis; foreskin”), from pel (“skin; garment made of animal skin, pelisse”) (from Latin pellis (“animal skin, hide, pelt; leather; garment made of animal skin”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”)) + -ete (diminutive suffix); or * from Late Latin peletta, pelleta, pelletta (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”). Related to fell, pilch, film. Also compare Old Norse feldr (“pelt”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Norwegian Bokmål pels (“fur; fur coat”) * Norwegian Nynorsk pels (“fur; fur coat”)

pelt · verb, noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pel-“to beat; to drive, push”
2. Latin · derived frompultāre“to beat, knock, strike”
3. Late Latin · derived from*pultiare
4. Old English · inherited from*pyltan
5. Middle English · inherited frompilten“to push, thrust; to strike; to cast down, humble; to incite, induce; to place, put; to extend, reach forward with”
6. Middle English · inherited frompelt
7. English todaypelt

The verb is derived from Late Middle English pelt, pelte; further origin uncertain, probably a variant of Late Middle English pilten (“to push, thrust; to strike; to cast down, humble; to incite, induce; to place, put; to extend, reach forward with”) [and other forms], possibly from Old English *pyltan, from Late Latin *pultiare, from Latin pultāre (“to beat, knock, strike”), the frequentative of pellere, the present active infinitive of pellō (“to drive, impel, propel, push; to hurl; to banish, eject, expel, thrust out; to beat, strike; to set in motion”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to beat; to drive, push”). The noun is derived from the verb.

pelt · noun³

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*paltrô
2. Old Saxon · derived from*paltro
3. Middle Low German · derived frompalte
4. English todaypelt

Uncertain; possibly related to pelting (“mean, paltry”) (obsolete), peltry (“rubbish, trash; an unpleasant thing”) (chiefly Scotland, obsolete), and paltry (“of little value, trashy, trivial; contemptibly unimportant, despicable”), possibly from a Germanic language such as Middle Low German palte, palter (“cloth; rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth; rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“patch; rag, scrap”). The ultimate origin is uncertain, but the word is possibly a wanderwort from *polto- (“cloth”).

pelt · verb⁴

Uncertain; possibly related to palter (“to talk insincerely; to prevaricate or equivocate in speech or actions; to haggle; to babble, chatter; (rare) to trifle”), further etymology unknown. The Oxford English Dictionary takes the view that any relation to pelting (“mean, paltry”) (obsolete) and paltry (“of little value, trashy, trivial; contemptibly unimportant, despicable”) is unlikely.

pelt · noun⁵

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pel-“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromπέλτη“small crescent-shaped leather shield of Thracian design”
3. Latin · derived frompelta
4. English todaypelt

A variant of pelta, borrowed from Latin pelta, from Ancient Greek πέλτη (péltē, “small crescent-shaped leather shield of Thracian design”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps either from Thracian, or ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”).

Words from the same roots