overwordExplorer
LATIN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

lens.

lentil

4 characters1 syllables approx.Latina language

Meaning & usage

noun[ˈɫẽːs]Classical-Latin[ˈlɛns]
  1. lentil

    declension-3
  2. lens

    Medieval-Latin · declension-3
Where this word comes from

Unknown, likely a borrowing from an unidentified source. Compare Old High German linsa (“lentil”), Lithuanian lęšis (“lentil”), Proto-Slavic *lęťa (“lentil”), and Albanian lend (“acorn”), sounding too similar for a coincidence, however different enough to prohibit reconstruction of a common PIE protoform. May also be related to Ancient Greek λάθυρος (láthuros). If ultimately a non-IE substrate loanword, locating the source is virtually impossible because cultivation of lentil was widespread in the region since the Neolithic.

noun
  1. nit (egg of a louse)

    declension-3
Where this word comes from

Unknown. According to De Vaan, perhaps a deformed form of what is found as Proto-Slavic *gňìda (“nit”), Proto-Germanic *hnits (“nit”), Ancient Greek κονίς (konís) (gen. κονίδος (konídos)), Armenian անիծ (anic, “nit”); he proposes Proto-Indo-European *dḱ(o)nid- > *dkni-n-d- > *dklind- > Proto-Italic *(d)lind-. However, like the Indo-European cognates, it may be of substrate origin.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.