English
epaulet
Epaulet comes from French épaule ‘shoulder’, from Late Latin spathula ‘flat, broad piece’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā ‘blade’.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘straight sword’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathula‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatlareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalle‘shoulder’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espaule‘shoulder’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépaule‘shoulder’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentépaulette
- Englishearliest quotation 1981epaulet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘straight sword’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathula‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatlareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalle‘shoulder’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espaule‘shoulder’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépaule‘shoulder’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentépaulette
- Englishearliest quotation 1981epaulet
Earliest quotation: 1981, Manual of Nearctic Diptera: “The most proxlmal plate, at the extreme base of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, theme, defence, custom, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethnic, thesis, defendant, feast, theology, ethical, aesthetic, doom, tick, synthetic, deed, dis, atheist, atheism, demi, auditorium, deem, thematic, forfeit, ethic, feral, auditor, fanatic, 126 more
through Latin spatha ‘straight sword’
spade, spatula, espada, 17 more
through Vulgar Latin *spatla
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā / epaulet