Etymograph

English

petit

Petit comes from Old French petit ‘small, little’, and goes back to Latin *pit-.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*pit-reconstructed
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*pitittusreconstructeddiminutive of *pit-
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400petit‘small, little’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘small’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1684same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*pit-reconstructed
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CE*pitittusreconstructeddiminutive of *pit-
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400petit‘small, little’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘small’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1684same form

Earliest quotation: 1684, or 1685 February 22, Robert South: “And by what small, petit Hints does the Mind…”

The story

From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (‘part, bit, piece’) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin.

Every English word from Latin *pit-

Another origin of petit

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeg-‘to break’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰég-ko-suncertain
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*biggos‘small, little’uncertain
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pittusas pittitus‘small, little’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400petit‘small, little’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘brevier’by way of German Petit
  7. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

adj Petite: small, little.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin *pit- / petit

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