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Where does the word "vapor" come from? It comes from Latin vapor, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
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Where does the word "vapor" come from? It comes from Latin vapor, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Vapor’s story begins in Latin: vapor meant “steam.” Possibly related to Greek 'kapnos', smoke. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as vapour. Exhalation or mist. It reached English by 1300s as vapor. 'vaporware' dates from the 1980s. Today, vapor means a substance in gas form.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient vapor "steam", possibly related to Greek 'kapnos', smoke.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval vapour "vapour", exhalation or mist.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s vapor "mist", 'vaporware' dates from the 1980s.