plummet

/pˈlʌmət/PLUH-muht

/pˈlʌmət/PLUH-muht

Meaninga lead weight

Common meaning: to fall straight down

plummlead (the metal)Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1388 · scan
etsmall-thing ending (from French)

Journey through time

Latinplumbum‘lead (the metal)’
Frenchplombet
Middle Englishplommetsource
Englishplummet‘to fall straight down’ · today

plumm also in: aplomb plumber

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin plumbum ‘lead (the metal)’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry plumbum, p. 451 · dictionary scan

Roots

plumbum Latin “lead (the metal)”

Related words

aplomb plumb plumber

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