English
pupil
Pupil comes from Latin pūpillus ‘orphan, minor’, from pūpus ‘child, boy’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-‘few’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpus‘child’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpillus‘orphan, minor’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pupille‘orphan’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1668pupil
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-‘few’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpus‘child’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpillus‘orphan, minor’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pupille‘orphan’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1668pupil
Earliest quotation: 1668, James Dalrymple, Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies: “The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’
few, poor, fewer, pose, pause, puppy, pediatrics, puppet, pave, pedagogy, filly, menopausal, paucity, orthopedics, posada, puerile, pupa, 31 more
Another origin of pupil
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpa‘girl, little girl’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūpilla
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pupille‘orphan’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishtodaypupil
From Middle English pupille, from Old French pupille, from Latin pūpilla (‘pupil; little girl, doll’), named because of the small reflected image seen when looking into someone's eye.
Today it means
noun A learner at a school under the supervision of a teacher.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- / pupil