English
cutlet
Cutlet comes from Middle French costelette ‘little rib’, and goes back to Latin costa ‘a side, a wall’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcosta‘a side, a wall’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coste‘rib, side’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600costelette‘little rib’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcôtelette
- Englishtodaycutlet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcosta‘a side, a wall’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400coste‘rib, side’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600costelette‘little rib’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcôtelette
- Englishtodaycutlet
Formed from cut + -let
The story
Influenced by English cut, as if from cut + -let.
Linked words
through Latin costa ‘a side, a wall’
through Old French coste ‘rib, side’
through Middle French coste
Today it means
noun A thin slice of meat, usually fried.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin costa / cutlet