Where does “fay” come from?

fay (Cornish) comes from Middle English faie, from Middle French feie, from Old French fae, from Latin fāta, from Latin fātum, from Latin fātus, from Latin for, from Proto-Italic fāōr — to speak, to be talking.

fay (Cornish): faith

Definitions

  1. faith

Ancestry of “fay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfaieMagical, enchanted, or otherworldly; fey or fae;...
2Middle Frenchfeie—
3Old Frenchfae—
4LatinfātaFate; Moira; goddess who controls destiny; divine personification of fate
5Latinfātumdestiny, fate, lot
6Latinfātusspoken, said, told, foretold, related, predicted; having or had spoken, etc
7Latinfor"defective"; I speak, talk, say
8Proto-Italicfāōrspeak
9Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰéh₂tito speak, to be talking
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰéh₂ti →Every word from Proto-Italic fāōr →Every word from Latin for →