English
coven
Coven comes from Old French covent, and goes back to Latin conveniō ‘to convene, assemble, gather, meet or come…’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconveniō‘to convene, assemble, gather, meet or come together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconventum
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400covent
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a congregation or meeting’
- Englishearliest quotation 1965coven
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconveniō‘to convene, assemble, gather, meet or come together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconventum
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400covent
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a congregation or meeting’
- Englishearliest quotation 1965coven
Earliest quotation: 1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic: “A coven of witches is traditionally composed of thirteen…”
A compound of cum ‘with’ + venio ‘to come’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’
Proto-Italic *gʷəniō ‘to come’
Latin venio ‘to come’
Linked words
through Latin conveniō ‘to convene, assemble, gather, meet or come…’
convention, convenient, convenience, convene, 7 more
through Old French covent
Today it means
noun A nunnery, a convent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin conveniō / coven