route

Where does the word "route" come from? It comes from Latin rupta via, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).

Route’s story begins in Latin: rupta via meant “a cleared road.” Literally a broken road, a path cleared or broken through terrain. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as route. Carried into French for a path or course of travel. It reached English by 1400s as route. Settled as the English word for a course of travel between places. Today, route means a course or path taken to travel from one place to another.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient rupta via "a cleared road", literally a broken road, a path cleared or broken through terrain.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval route "a path or course of travel", carried into French for a path or course of travel.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1400s route "a course or path taken to reach a destination", settled as the English word for a course of travel between places.