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Where does the word "gait" come from? It comes from Old Norse gata, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
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Where does the word "gait" come from? It comes from Old Norse gata, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Gait’s story begins in Old Norse: gata meant “a way, a path.” A way, a path, later extended to describe a manner of walking. It reached English by 1400s as gait. Settled as the English word for a person's manner of walking. Today, gait means a person's particular manner or style of walking.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval gata "a way, a path", a way, a path, later extended to describe a manner of walking.
- Stage 2 · English · 1400s gait "a person's manner of walking", settled as the English word for a person's manner of walking.