Etymograph

English

plumbery

Plumbery comes from French plomberie ‘plumbing’, from plomb ‘lead (metal)’, and ultimately from Latin plumbum.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplumbum1‘lead (metal)’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400plom1
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600plom1‘lead’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentplomb2‘lead (metal)’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentplomberie3‘plumbing’
  6. Englishtodayplumbery3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French plomb
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French plomberie
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English plumbery

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplumbumWiktionary, French plomb‘lead (metal)’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400plomWiktionary, French plomb
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600plomWiktionary, French plomb‘lead’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentplombWiktionary, French plomberie‘lead (metal)’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentplomberieWiktionary, English plumbery‘plumbing’
  6. EnglishtodayplumberyWiktionary, English plumbery

Linked words

through Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom ‘lead’

lead, loth, 13 more

through Ancient Greek μόλυβδος ‘lead’

molybdenum, 16 more

through Latin plumbum ‘lead (metal)’

plunge, plummet, 12 more

through French plomb ‘lead (metal)’

aplomb, 1 more

Today it means

noun The business of a plumber; plumbing

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plumbery”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for French plomb, French plomberie. 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 plumbum / plumbery

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