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Where does the word "tunnel" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin tunna, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).
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Where does the word "tunnel" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin tunna, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).
Tunnel’s story begins in Medieval Latin: tunna meant “cask.” A Gaulish word adopted in Medieval Latin. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as tonnel. A barrel shape, then a tube-shaped net. It reached English by 1400s as tunnel. Railway tunnels spread the modern sense in the 1800s. Today, tunnel means an underground passage.
- Stage 1 · Medieval Latin · medieval tunna "cask", a Gaulish word adopted in Medieval Latin.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval tonnel "cask; tube-shaped net", a barrel shape, then a tube-shaped net.
- Stage 3 · English · 1400s tunnel "net; funnel", railway tunnels spread the modern sense in the 1800s.