|
|
Etymology
Dictionary
|
Origin of the word ANT. Etymology of the word
ANT.
|
|
From An Etymology
Dictionary of the English Language, by Walter W. Skeat, 1893. |
|
ANT,
a small insect; the emmet. (E.) Ant is a contraction
from A.S. æmete (Lat. formica), an emmet; Ælf. Gloss., Nomina
Insectorum; so that ant and emmet are doublets. The form
æmette
became, by the ordinary phonetic changes in English, amette, amet, amt, ant.
¶ Examples of the change of
m to n before t occur in Hants as a
shortened form of Hamptonshire (see Mätzner, Engl. Gram. i. 123); also in E.
aunt from Lat. amita. See Emmet. Der.
ant-hill. [†]
ADDENDA
'Chameleon, æmete;'
Wright's Voc. ii. 15 (11th cent.). But it is spelt æmette
in the place to which I refer. The M.E. form amte occurs in
Wyclif, Prov. vi. 6.
|
|
|
| Etymology
Dictionary Index |
| A, B,
C, D, E,
F, G, H,
I, J, K,
L, M, N,
O, P, Q,
R, S, T,
U, V, W,
X, Y, Z
|
|
| Key |
| Arab.=Arabic. |
| A.S.=Anglo
Saxon. |
| Bavar.=Bavarian |
| Bohem.=Bohemian. |
| C.=Celtic,
used as a general term for Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton,
Cornish, &c. |
| Corn.=Cornish. |
| Dan.=Danish. |
| Du.=Dutch |
| E.=English. |
| E.E.=Early
English. |
| Europ.=European. |
| F.=French. |
| G.=German. |
| Gk.=Greek. |
| Goth.=Gothic. |
| Icel.=Icelandic. |
| Ital.=Italian. |
| L. or
Lat.=Latin. |
| Lith.
& Lithuan.=Lithuanian. |
| M.E.=Middle
English. |
| M.F.=Middle
French |
| M.H.G.=Middle
High German. |
| Norw.=Norwegian. |
| O.F.=Old
French. |
| O.H.G.=Old
High German. |
| Pers.=Persian. |
| Port.=Portuguese. |
| Scand.=Scandinavian,
used as a general term for Icelandic, Swedish, Danish,
&c. |
| Sc.=Scottish. |
| Skt.=Sanskrit. |
| Span.=Spanish. |
| Swed.=Sweish. |
| Teut.=Teutonic |
| Turk.=Turkish. |
| W.=Welsh. |
|
|
|
|
|
