Etymology

plunge

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Today it means: To thrust into liquid, or into any penetrable substance; to immerse. Full definition →

Middle English plungen ← Anglo-Norman plungier ← Old French plongier
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plunge · verb, noun1

  1. Old French · derived fromplongier
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromplungier
  3. Middle English · inherited fromplungen
  4. English todayplunge

From Middle English plungen, ploungen, Anglo-Norman plungier, from Old French plongier, (Modern French plonger), from unattested Late Latin frequentative *plumbicō (“to throw a leaded line”), from plumbum (“lead”). Compare plumb, plounce.

plunge · verb2

Back-formation from plunger.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.