The word "vomit" has a direct and visceral lineage, originating from the Latin verb 'vomere', which meant "to discharge, spew out." This Latin root is itself believed to be onomatopoeic, imitating the sound and action it describes. It passed into Middle English through Anglo-French, retaining its core meaning of forceful expulsion from the stomach. The logic of its formation is thus rooted in sound symbolism, where the word's phonetic form directly echoes the physical act it denotes, a connection that remains perfectly clear in its modern medical and common usage.

The word is a simplex. It entered Middle English from Anglo-French 'vomite' or directly from Latin 'vomitus', the past participle of 'vomere', meaning "to vomit, spew forth."