Where does “Metairie” come from?
Metairie (English) comes from French métairie, from French métayer, from Old French moitoier, from Late Latin medietarius, from Latin medius, from Latin locus, from Old Latin stlocus, from Proto-Italic stlokos — to put, to place; to locate.
Ancestry of “Metairie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | métairie | smallholding |
| 2 | French | métayer | sharecropper, metayer |
| 3 | Old French | moitoier | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | medietarius | — |
| 5 | Latin | medius | middle; half; moderate |
| 6 | Latin | locus | place, spot; a passage of literature; "in the... |
| 7 | Old Latin | stlocus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | stlokos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | stel- | to put, to place; to locate |