English
quilt
Quilt comes from Anglo-Norman quilte, and goes back to Latin culcita ‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEculcita‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400quilte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a quilt’
- Englishearliest quotation 1648quilt
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEculcita‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400quilte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a quilt’
- Englishearliest quotation 1648quilt
Earliest quotation: 1648, Robert Herrick, Corinna’s Going a Maying: “Get up, get up for shame, the blooming morne…”
Linked words
through Latin calx ‘heel’
calcium, chalk, calculus, causeway, calcite, calcareous, recalcitrant, caulk, calzone, 35 more
through Latin calcō ‘to trample’
through Latin culcita ‘mattress, bedding, pillow, cushion’
Today it means
noun A bed covering consisting of two layers of fabric stitched together, with insulation between, often having a decorative design.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin culcita / quilt