*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of amity

From Middle English amite, from Old French amisté, amitie, amistiet, from Vulgar Latin *amīcitātem, derived from Latin amīcus (“friend”), from amō (“love”).

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Friendship; friendliness. · Mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English amite, from Old French amisté, amitie, amistiet, from Vulgar Latin *amīcitātem, derived from Latin amīcus (“friend”), from amō (“love”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionamiteenm
  • Derivation mentionamistéfro
  • Derivation mentionamīcusla · friend
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "amite"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English amite"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "amisté"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French amisté"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-vul",
        "3": "*amicitas",
        "4": "*amīcitātem"
      },
      "expansion": "Vulgar Latin *amīcitātem"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "amīcus",
        "t": "friend"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin amīcus (“friend”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "amite",
      "amite#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "amisté",
      "amisté#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "amitie",
      "amitie#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "amistiet",
      "amistiet#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*amīcitātem",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/amicitas"
    ],
    [
      "amīcus",
      "amicus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "amō",
      "amo#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Friendship; friendliness.",
        "Mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "formal",
        "literary"
      ],
      "recordId": "0022a565f51aab8c6973eafd772818012e6fff3983e1c339a9458bbe9684c18c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "658f57e639aa227c8714fbe549d10fb8fef6ed90414bd31a8520003b702e67ec",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 227209
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for amity →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YW1pdHk