Etymograph

English

label

Label comes from Middle English label ‘narrow band’, from Old French label ‘strip of fabric’, from Frankish *lappā, from Proto-Germanic *lappǭ, from PIE *leb-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leb-1‘blade’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lappǭ1reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*lappā1‘torn piece of cloth’reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400label1‘strip of fabric’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500label1‘narrow band’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595label1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English label
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leb-Wiktionary, English label‘blade’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lappǭWiktionary, English labelreconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*lappāWiktionary, English label‘torn piece of cloth’reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400labelWiktionary, English label‘strip of fabric’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500labelWiktionary, English label‘narrow band’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595labelWiktionary, English label. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “Ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd, /…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with label, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *leb- ‘blade’

  • la ← labium ← *labjom ← *l̥b-yóm
  • lip ← lippe ← lippa ← *lippjō ← *lepô
  • lap ← lappe ← læppa ← *lappō ← *lappô
  • limp ← limpen ← limpan ← *limpan ← *limpaną
  • limbo ← limbus ← *lemb-
  • lobe ← lobus ← λοβός ← *lobós ← *lobós
  • labia ← labium ← *labjom ← *l̥b-yóm
  • lave ← lafa ← *labēn-
  • labrum

14 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “label”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leb- / label