lessonlesson

Lesson comes from Middle English lessoun ‘a written text for recitation or memorisation’, from Old French leçon ‘reading’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-¹‘to gather’reconstructed
2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti¹reconstructed
3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō¹reconstructed
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō²‘to read’
5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElēctiō²‘a reading’
6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400leçon²‘reading’
7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lessoun²‘a written text for recitation or memorisation’
8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1587lesson²

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin lego
2. ² Wiktionary, English lesson
3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “She would give her a lesson for walking so…”.