English
Venice
Venice comes from Middle English Venyse.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Venyse
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598Venice
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Venyse
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598Venice
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “An. The Duke cannot deny the courſe of law:…”
The story
From Middle English Venyse, from Old French Venise or Old Italian, from Medieval Latin Venetia, from Latin Venetī + -ia (suffix forming place names), a local tribe in antiquity whose own little-attested language is now known as Venetic. Initial scholarly agreement that they were Illyrian was based on arguments since refuted. They worshipped Belenus and were possibly Celtic or heavily influenced by Celtic culture, despite repeatedly supporting the Romans against the Gauls. Widely but mistakenly derived by the ancient Greeks and Romans from the Eneti of Pamphylia, supposed to have fled to the Adriatic and become the Veneti after supporting the losing side of the Trojan War.
Every English word from Middle English Venyse
Today it means
name A port city and comune, the capital of the Metropolitan City of Venice and the region of Veneto, Italy; former capital of an independent republic.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English Venyse / Venice