Where does “écu” come from?

écu (English) comes from French écu, from Old French escut, from Latin scūtum, from Proto-Indo-European skei-, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.

écu (English): A silver coin formerly used in France, with...

Definitions

  1. A silver coin formerly used in France, with...

Ancestry of “écu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchécushield; écu
2Old Frenchescutshield
3Latinscūtuma type of shield: the scutum, the large oblong wooden shield carried by the Roman infantry
4Proto-Indo-Europeanskei-to cut, to divide, to separate; to cut, split; to...
5Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “écu”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European skei- →Every word from Latin scūtum →