---
title: "Doublets: English Words From One Source | Etymoasis"
description: "English doublets such as hospital, hostel and hotel, frail and fragile, guard and ward: words from one source by different routes, with sources."
url: https://etymoasis.me/doublets/
---

# Doublets: one source, two routes

48 sets of English words that grew from the same source word but reached English by different paths, drawn as channels from the spring to each word.

## Find a doublet

1. ### hospital · hostel · hotel
   Medieval Latin *hospitāle* ‘guesthouse, shelter’
   1. Old French *hospital***hospital**
   2. Old French *hostel***hostel**
   3. French *hôtel*, from Old French *hostel***hotel**
   All three began as places that take in guests. Hostel fell out of use for over a century until Walter Scott revived it in 1808.
   [Wiktionary: hospital](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hospital#English) [Wiktionary: hostel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hostel#English) [Wiktionary: hotel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hotel#English)
2. ### frail · fragile
   Latin *fragilis* ‘easily broken (from frangere ‘to break’)’
   1. Old French *fraile***frail**
   2. French *fragile*, or straight from Latin**fragile**
   Frail was worn down in Old French speech; fragile keeps a spelling much closer to the Latin.
   [Wiktionary: frail](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frail#English) [Wiktionary: fragile](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fragile#English)
3. ### ward · guard
   Proto-Germanic **wardāną* ‘to guard, watch’
   1. Old English *weard* (inherited)**ward**
   2. Frankish, then Old French *guarder***guard**
   English kept the w-; Old French turned the Germanic w- into gu-. The same split shows in warranty and guarantee, and warden and guardian.
   [Wiktionary: ward](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ward#English) [Wiktionary: guard](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guard#English)
4. ### warranty · guarantee
   Frankish **warjan* ‘to ward off’
   1. Anglo-Norman *warantie***warranty**
   2. Old French *guarantie***guarantee**
   The Norman French used in England kept the w-, while central French had gu-; English borrowed both.
   [Wiktionary: warranty](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/warranty#English) [Wiktionary: guarantee](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guarantee#English)
5. ### warden · guardian
   Old French *guarder, warder* ‘to guard (from Frankish)’
   1. Anglo-Norman *wardein***warden**
   2. Old French *guardein***guardian**
   Another w-/gu- pair: the Norman form gave warden, the central French form gave guardian.
   [Wiktionary: warden](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/warden#English) [Wiktionary: guardian](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guardian#English)
6. ### chief · chef
   Latin *caput* ‘head’
   1. Old French *chief* ‘head, leader’**chief**
   2. modern French *chef*, from chef de cuisine**chef**
   The same French word, borrowed twice: first for a leader, much later for the head of a kitchen.
   [Wiktionary: chief](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chief#English) [Wiktionary: chef](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chef#English)
7. ### cattle · chattel · capital
   Medieval Latin *capitāle* ‘property (from capitālis ‘of the head’)’
   1. Anglo-Norman *catel* ‘property’**cattle**
   2. Old French *chatel***chattel**
   3. Latin *capitālis*, partly through French**capital**
   ‘Personal property’, ‘cows’ and ‘money for trade’ all grew from one word for property. Wiktionary links the money sense to medieval trading in head of cattle.
   [Wiktionary: cattle](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cattle#English) [Wiktionary: chattel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chattel#English) [Wiktionary: capital](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/capital#English)
8. ### poison · potion
   Latin *pōtiō* ‘a drinking, a drink’
   1. Old French *poison***poison**
   2. Old French *pocion***potion**
   Both go back to a Latin word for a drink; potable is a more distant relative.
   [Wiktionary: poison](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poison#English) [Wiktionary: potion](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/potion#English)
9. ### sure · secure
   Latin *sēcūrus* ‘free from care (sē- ‘without’ + cūra ‘care’)’
   1. Old French *seur***sure**
   2. straight from Latin**secure**
   Sure is the form that passed through French speech; secure was taken straight from Latin.
   [Wiktionary: sure](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sure#English) [Wiktionary: secure](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/secure#English)
10. ### loyal · legal
    Latin *lēgālis* ‘of the law (from lēx ‘law’)’
    1. Old French *loial*, leial**loyal**
    2. Latin *lēgālis***legal**
    Loyal is the form worn down in French; legal came straight from Latin. Leal, an old and Scots word for loyal, is a third relative.
    [Wiktionary: loyal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loyal#English) [Wiktionary: legal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legal#English)
11. ### royal · regal
    Latin *rēgālis* ‘kingly (from rēx ‘king’)’
    1. Old French *roial***royal**
    2. Old French *regal*, closer to the Latin**regal**
    French speech wore rēgālis down to roial; regal keeps the g.
    [Wiktionary: royal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/royal#English) [Wiktionary: regal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/regal#English)
12. ### dainty · dignity
    Latin *dignitās* ‘worthiness’
    1. Old French *deintié***dainty**
    2. Old French *dignité***dignity**
    Dainty came through everyday French; dignity kept a shape closer to the Latin.
    [Wiktionary: dainty](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dainty#English) [Wiktionary: dignity](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dignity#English)
13. ### blame · blaspheme
    Late Latin *blasphēmāre* ‘to revile (from Greek *βλασφημέω*, blasphēméō)’
    1. Old French *blasmer***blame**
    2. Old French *blasfemer***blaspheme**
    Old French squeezed the long word down to blasmer; blaspheme kept its religious sense and fuller shape.
    [Wiktionary: blame](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blame#English) [Wiktionary: blaspheme](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blaspheme#English)
14. ### count · compute
    Latin *computāre* ‘to reckon, sum up’
    1. Old French *conter***count**
    2. French *computer*, from Latin (17th century)**compute**
    Count arrived worn down through French; compute was borrowed again in the 1600s in its Latin shape.
    [Wiktionary: count](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/count#English) [Wiktionary: compute](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/compute#English)
15. ### sever · separate
    Latin *sēparāre* ‘to separate’
    1. Old French *sevrer***sever**
    2. Latin *sēparātus***separate**
    One verb, two shapes: sever through French, separate from the Latin past participle.
    [Wiktionary: sever](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sever#English) [Wiktionary: separate](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/separate#English)
16. ### spice · species
    Latin *speciēs* ‘kind, sort; later goods, wares’
    1. Old French *espice***spice**
    2. straight from Latin**species**
    Spices were a ‘kind’ of goods; species kept the scientific sense of ‘kind’.
    [Wiktionary: spice](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spice#English) [Wiktionary: species](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/species#English)
17. ### reason · ration
    Latin *ratiō* ‘reckoning, reason’
    1. Old French *raisun***reason**
    2. French *ration***ration**
    Ratio is a third member of the family, borrowed straight from Latin.
    [Wiktionary: reason](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reason#English) [Wiktionary: ration](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ration#English)
18. ### strait · strict
    Latin *strictus* ‘drawn tight (from stringere)’
    1. Old French *estreit***strait**
    2. straight from Latin**strict**
    A strait is a narrow, tight passage of water; strict is tight in a figurative sense.
    [Wiktionary: strait](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strait#English) [Wiktionary: strict](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strict#English)
19. ### jealous · zealous
    Medieval Latin *zēlōsus* ‘full of zeal (from Greek *ζῆλος*, zêlos ‘zeal, jealousy’)’
    1. Old French *jalous***jealous**
    2. Medieval Latin *zēlōsus***zealous**
    The Greek word already meant both eager devotion and jealousy; English split the senses between two spellings.
    [Wiktionary: jealous](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jealous#English) [Wiktionary: zealous](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zealous#English)
20. ### treason · tradition
    Latin *trāditiō* ‘a surrender, a handing over’
    1. Old French *traison***treason**
    2. Old French *tradicion*, from Latin**tradition**
    A tradition is handed down; treason hands your side over to the enemy.
    [Wiktionary: treason](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/treason#English) [Wiktionary: tradition](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tradition#English)
21. ### dish · desk · dais · disk · discus
    Latin *discus* ‘disc, quoit, dish (from Greek *δίσκος*, dískos)’
    1. Old English *disc* (an early borrowing)**dish**
    2. Medieval Latin *desca*, from Italian *desco***desk**
    3. Old French *deis***dais**
    4. Latin *discus***disk**
    5. Latin *discus* (1650s)**discus**
    One round, flat object became a plate, a table, a raised platform, a disc and a throwing weight.
    [Wiktionary: dish](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dish#English) [Wiktionary: desk](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desk#English) [Wiktionary: dais](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dais#English) [Wiktionary: disk](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disk#English) [Wiktionary: discus](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/discus#English)
22. ### inch · ounce
    Latin *ūncia* ‘a twelfth part’
    1. Old English *ynce* (an early borrowing)**inch**
    2. Old French *unce***ounce**
    A twelfth of a foot and a twelfth of a (Roman) pound: one word, borrowed at two different times.
    [Wiktionary: inch](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inch#English) [Wiktionary: ounce](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ounce#English) [Wiktionary: uncia](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uncia#Latin)
23. ### shirt · skirt
    Proto-Germanic **skurtijǭ* ‘skirt, apron’
    1. Old English *scyrte* (inherited)**shirt**
    2. Old Norse *skyrta* (borrowed)**skirt**
    English softened sk- to sh-; Old Norse kept sk-, and English later borrowed the Norse form too.
    [Wiktionary: shirt](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shirt#English) [Wiktionary: skirt](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skirt#English)
24. ### grammar · glamour
    Old French *gramaire* ‘classical learning (from Latin grammatica)’
    1. Middle English *gramere***grammar**
    2. Scots *alteration of gramere***glamour**
    Learning was linked with magic, and the Scots form glamour first meant an enchantment before it meant alluring charm.
    [Wiktionary: grammar](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grammar#English) [Wiktionary: glamour](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/glamour#English)
25. ### corpse · corps · corpus
    Latin *corpus* ‘body’
    1. Old French *cors* (the p was put back later)**corpse**
    2. French *corps d’armée* ‘army body’**corps**
    3. straight from Latin**corpus**
    A dead body, a body of soldiers and a body of texts.
    [Wiktionary: corpse](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corpse#English) [Wiktionary: corps](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corps#English) [Wiktionary: corpus](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corpus#English)
26. ### sergeant · servant
    Latin *serviēns* ‘serving; a servant’
    1. Old French *sergent***sergeant**
    2. Old French *servant***servant**
    A sergeant was first simply someone who served.
    [Wiktionary: sergeant](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sergeant#English) [Wiktionary: servant](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/servant#English)
27. ### card · chart
    Latin *charta* ‘paper (from Greek *χάρτης*, khártēs ‘papyrus’)’
    1. Middle French *carte***card**
    2. Middle French *charte***chart**
    Charter belongs to the same family.
    [Wiktionary: card](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/card#English) [Wiktionary: chart](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chart#English)
28. ### canal · channel
    Latin *canālis* ‘channel, narrow passage’
    1. French *canal***canal**
    2. Old French *chanel***channel**
    Channel shows the French sound change from ca- to cha-; canal keeps the Latin shape.
    [Wiktionary: canal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canal#English) [Wiktionary: channel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/channel#English)
29. ### poor · pauper
    Latin *pauper* ‘poor’
    1. Old French *povre***poor**
    2. straight from Latin, first as a legal term**pauper**
    Poor came through everyday French; pauper was borrowed later for the law courts.
    [Wiktionary: poor](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poor#English) [Wiktionary: pauper](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pauper#English)
30. ### particle · parcel
    Latin *particula* ‘small part (from pars ‘part’)’
    1. French *particule*, or from Latin**particle**
    2. Old French *parcelle*, from Italian *particella***parcel**
    A parcel was once a small part of something, as in ‘part and parcel’.
    [Wiktionary: particle](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/particle#English) [Wiktionary: parcel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parcel#English)
31. ### native · naive
    Latin *nātīvus* ‘native, natural’
    1. Old French *natif***native**
    2. French *naïve* (feminine of naïf)**naive**
    Native came through Old French; naive is the modern French feminine form, with the French spelling.
    [Wiktionary: native](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/native#English) [Wiktionary: naive](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/naive#English)
32. ### ticket · etiquette
    Old French *estiquette* ‘label, note (from a Germanic verb ‘to stick’)’
    1. Middle French *etiquet***ticket**
    2. French *étiquette* (1740)**etiquette**
    One French word for a label or note: ticket came through older French, and etiquette was borrowed again in 1740.
    [Wiktionary: ticket](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ticket#English) [Wiktionary: etiquette](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/etiquette#English)
33. ### custom · costume
    Latin *cōnsuētūdō* ‘habit, custom’
    1. Old French *coustume***custom**
    2. French *costume*, from Italian**costume**
    A costume was the customary dress of a place or time.
    [Wiktionary: custom](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/custom#English) [Wiktionary: costume](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/costume#English)
34. ### abridge · abbreviate
    Late Latin *abbreviāre* ‘to shorten (from brevis ‘short’)’
    1. Old French *abregier***abridge**
    2. Latin *abbreviātus***abbreviate**
    Both mean to shorten, one through French and one straight from Latin.
    [Wiktionary: abridge](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abridge#English) [Wiktionary: abbreviate](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abbreviate#English)
35. ### major · mayor
    Latin *maior* ‘greater (comparative of magnus)’
    1. Latin *maior***major**
    2. Old French *maire***mayor**
    A mayor is the ‘greater’ person of a town.
    [Wiktionary: major](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/major#English) [Wiktionary: mayor](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mayor#English)
36. ### poignant · pungent
    Latin *pungere* ‘to prick, sting’
    1. Old French *poignant***poignant**
    2. Latin *pungēns***pungent**
    A pungent smell and a poignant memory both sting.
    [Wiktionary: poignant](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poignant#English) [Wiktionary: pungent](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pungent#English)
37. ### ransom · redemption
    Latin *redēmptiō* ‘buying back’
    1. Old French *raençon***ransom**
    2. Old French *redemption*, from Latin**redemption**
    A ransom buys a captive back.
    [Wiktionary: ransom](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ransom#English) [Wiktionary: redemption](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/redemption#English)
38. ### example · sample
    Latin *exemplum* ‘example (literally ‘something taken out’)’
    1. Old French *example***example**
    2. Anglo-Norman *essample*, losing its first syllable**sample**
    Sample is example with the beginning worn away.
    [Wiktionary: example](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/example#English) [Wiktionary: sample](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sample#English)
39. ### whole · hale
    Old English *hāl* ‘healthy, whole’
    1. Middle English *hole*, hool (the wh- spelling appears around 1400)**whole**
    2. Middle English *hale*, a northern form**hale**
    A doublet inside English itself: two regional forms of the same Old English word.
    [Wiktionary: whole](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whole#English) [Wiktionary: hale](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hale#English)
40. ### cipher · zero
    Arabic *ṣifr (صِفْر)* ‘empty, zero’
    1. Old French *cifre*, Medieval Latin**cipher**
    2. Italian *zero*, from Medieval Latin *zephirum***zero**
    Cipher once meant the figure 0 itself; the Arabic word is a translation of Sanskrit śūnya ‘empty’.
    [Wiktionary: cipher](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cipher#English) [Wiktionary: zero](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zero#English)
41. ### turban · tulip
    Persian *dulband (دلبند)* ‘turban’
    1. Ottoman Turkish, Italian *turbante*, French *turbant***turban**
    2. Ottoman Turkish, French *tulipan*, tulipe**tulip**
    Both came west through Ottoman Turkish tülbend.
    [Wiktionary: turban](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turban#English) [Wiktionary: tulip](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tulip#English)
42. ### fashion · faction
    Latin *factiō* ‘a making; a group acting together (from facere)’
    1. Old French *faceon*, façon**fashion**
    2. French *faction*, from Latin**faction**
    Fashion is a way of making things; a faction is a group that acts together.
    [Wiktionary: fashion](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fashion#English) [Wiktionary: faction](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faction#English)
43. ### pursue · prosecute
    Latin *prōsequī* ‘to follow, pursue’
    1. Anglo-Norman *pursuer***pursue**
    2. Latin *prōsecūtus***prosecute**
    To prosecute a case is to follow it through.
    [Wiktionary: pursue](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pursue#English) [Wiktionary: prosecute](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prosecute#English)
44. ### chase · catch
    Vulgar Latin **captiāre* ‘to try to catch (from capere ‘to take’)’
    1. Old French *chacier***chase**
    2. Old Northern French *cachier***catch**
    Northern French kept the hard c-; Parisian French turned it into ch-.
    [Wiktionary: chase](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chase#English) [Wiktionary: catch](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/catch#English)
45. ### quiet · quit · coy
    Latin *quiētus* ‘at rest’
    1. Old French *quiete*, from Latin**quiet**
    2. Old French *quitte* ‘free, released’**quit**
    3. Old French *quei* ‘quiet, still’**coy**
    To quit is to be set free and at rest; coy first meant quiet and still.
    [Wiktionary: quiet](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quiet#English) [Wiktionary: quit](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quit#English) [Wiktionary: coy](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coy#English)
46. ### gentle · genteel · jaunty
    Latin *gentīlis* ‘of the same clan or family (from gēns ‘clan’)’
    1. Old French *gentil* ‘high-born’**gentle**
    2. French *gentil*, borrowed again**genteel**
    3. French *gentil*, once spelled janty**jaunty**
    Gentle first meant high-born; genteel and jaunty are later borrowings of the same French gentil.
    [Wiktionary: gentle](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gentle#English) [Wiktionary: genteel](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/genteel#English) [Wiktionary: jaunty](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jaunty#English)
47. ### human · humane
    Latin *hūmānus* ‘of people, human’
    1. Old French *humain***human**
    2. Old French *humain*, an older spelling**humane**
    Humane was once just another spelling of human. Human became the usual spelling in the early 1700s, and humane kept the sense of kindness.
    [Wiktionary: human](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/human#English) [Wiktionary: humane](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/humane#English)
48. ### person · parson
    Latin *persōna* ‘person; a mask or character in a play’
    1. Old French *persone***person**
    2. Anglo-Norman *persone* ‘parson, person’**parson**
    In Anglo-Norman, persone meant both ‘person’ and ‘parson’.
    [Wiktionary: person](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/person#English) [Wiktionary: parson](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parson#English)

## Reading the channels

Each card starts at the spring: the source word, its language and its meaning. A channel runs from it to each English word, labelled with the route the word took. The usual pattern is one word that came early through spoken French, worn down by centuries of speech (*frail*, *poison*, *sure*), and another borrowed later from written Latin, still close to the original (*fragile*, *potion*, *secure*).

Search for any word in a set, a route such as *Old French* or *Anglo-Norman*, or a meaning such as *head*, and filter by the language of the source word. Each word links its Wiktionary entry, where the etymology section names the other members of the set.

## Questions

**What are doublets?**

Words in the same language that go back to the same source word but arrived by different routes, so they now look and mean different things. Three or more are sometimes called triplets.

**Why does English have so many?**

English took words from Norman French after 1066, from central French later, and straight from Latin books throughout, so the same Latin word could arrive two or three times in different shapes.

**Are cognates the same thing?**

Not quite. Cognates are related words in different languages, like English *father* and Latin *pater*. Doublets are both inside English and share a single, specific source word.