Etymologically
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mountain

Etymology and origin of the English word mountain

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1205
Borrowed from
Old French montaigne via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (mōns)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈmaʊn.tɪn/, US /ˈmaʊn.tᵊn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mountaine,[2] borrowed from Old French montaigne (French montagne),[3][4] from Vulgar Latin *montānea (“mountain, mountain region”),[3][4] the noun use of the feminine of *montāneus “of a mountain”,[3] from Latin montānus (“mountainous”),[3][4] from mōns (“mountain”) (genitive montis),[3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to project”).[3] It is related to mount, amount and paramount.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A natural elevation of the earth rising to a great height: about 1205 in the OED,[6] probably before 1200 in Layamon's Brut according to Barnhart.[4]

Semantic evolution

Until the 18th century it was used of fairly low elevations if they were prominent, such as the Sussex Downs or the hills around Paris.[3] The adjective is from 1373 in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[4][3] Used in the plural as the type of a remote region, it is from 1601.[6] The proverb about the mountain and Muhammad comes from Francis Bacon, who told the story in 1625.[5] Mountains high, of waves, is from 1719.[6] mountaineer was a native of mountains in 1610, in Shakespeare's Tempest,[4] and mountain dew was raw whisky by 1839.[3] The mountain lion, the puma, is American from 1849.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1205 – a mountain.[6]
  • 1373 – adjective.[4]
  • 1601 – a remote region.[6]
  • 1610 – mountaineer.[4]
  • 1625 – Bacon's story of Muhammad.[5]
  • 1839 – mountain dew.[3]
  • 1849 – mountain lion.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A large natural elevation of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a hill.
  2. A large heap: a mountain of laundry.
  3. A huge quantity: a mountain of debt.

Word family

  • mountainy
  • mountainless
  • mountaineer
  • mountaineering
  • submountain
  • transmountain
  • undermountain
  • amount
  • dismount
  • montane
  • mount
  • demount
  • mountainous
  • paramount
  • surmount
  • promontory
  • eminent

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mountain.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mountain. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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