pencil

The story

1. Latin · derived frompēnicillum
2. Anglo-Norman and Old French · derived frompincil
3. English todaypencil

From Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (see the variant pincel, which gave rise to Modern French pinceau (“paintbrush”)), from Latin pēnicillum, diminutive of pēniculus (“brush”), itself a diminutive of pēnis (“tail; penis”). Not related to pen.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 16th c. A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper.
• from 17th c. An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.
• from 19th c. A family of geometric objects with a common property, such as the set of lines that pass through a given point in a projective plane.
• from 14th c. A paintbrush.
• 19th c. A small medicated bougie.