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Street

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a public road in a city or town, usually with buildings along it

Where does the word "street" come from? It comes from Latin via strata, passing through Old English before entering English (1300s).

via strata→strǣt→street

Latin · classical

'paved road', strata from sternere 'to lay down'; Roman engineers built some 80,000 km of paved highways

Old English · medieval

Anglo-Saxons called the Roman roads they inherited 'streets', as in Watling Street and Ermine Street

English · 1300s

shifted from 'highway' to a road lined with houses; medieval London's Fleet Street took its name from the River Fleet it crossed

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Street’s story begins in Latin: via strata meant “paved road.” 'paved road', strata from sternere 'to lay down'; Roman engineers built some 80,000 km of paved highways. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as strǣt. Anglo-Saxons called the Roman roads they inherited 'streets', as in Watling Street and Ermine Street. It reached English by 1300s as street. Shifted from 'highway' to a road lined with houses; medieval London's Fleet Street took its name from the River Fleet it crossed. Today, street means a public road in a city or town, usually with buildings along it.