English
map
Map comes from Middle English mappemounde ‘world map’, and goes back to Medieval Latin mappa mundī.
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mappa mundī
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mapamonde‘world map’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mappemounde‘world map’
- Englishearliest quotation 1956map
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mappa mundī
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mapamonde‘world map’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mappemounde‘world map’
- Englishearliest quotation 1956map
Earliest quotation: 1956, Mapping Railways from the Air: “To provide the surveys required for modernisation schemes on…”
A compound of mappa ‘napkin, cloth’ + mundus ‘world’
Proto-Semitic *manpay
Phoenician 𐤌𐤀𐤐
Latin mappa ‘napkin, cloth’
Etruscan 𐌌𐌖𐌍𐌈
Latin mundus ‘world’
Linked words
pairs
- map and apron both from Latin mappa ‘napkin’
Every English word from Medieval Latin mappa mundī
Today it means
noun A visual representation of an area, whether real or imaginary, showing the relative positions of places and other features.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Medieval Latin mappa mundī / map