Etymograph

English

palace

Palace comes from Middle English paleys, from Old French palais, from Latin palātium, from Palātium, the Palatine Hill in Rome.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPalātium1‘the Palatine Hill’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalātium1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400palais1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paleys1‘a palace’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1834palace1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English palace
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “On Madame de Mercœur's arrival at the palace she…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPalātiumWiktionary, English palace‘the Palatine Hill’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalātiumWiktionary, English palace
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400palaisWiktionary, English palace
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paleysWiktionary, English palace‘a palace’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1834palaceWiktionary, English palace. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “On Madame de Mercœur's arrival at the palace she…”

The story

From Middle English paleys, from Old French palais, which comes from Latin palātium, from Palātium, in reference to the Palatine (Palatine Hill), one of the seven hills of Rome, where the aristocracy of the Roman Republic—and later, Roman emperors—built large, splendid residences. The name is ultimately either from Etruscan, the same source as Pales (‘Pales, the Italic goddess of shepherds, flocks and livestock’), or Latin palus (‘stake; enclosure’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

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

through Latin palātium

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Today it means

noun Official residence of a head of state or other dignitary, especially in a monarchical or imperial governmental system.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “palace”. 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 / Latin Palātium / palace