Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “affiance” come from?

affiance (English) comes from Middle French affiance, from Middle French affier, from Old French afier, from Late Latin affidare, from Vulgar Latin fidare, from Latin fīdō, from Proto-Italic feiðō, from Proto-Indo-European bʰéydʰeti — to compel, force; to trust.

Ancestry of “affiance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchaffiance—
2Middle Frenchaffierto promise; to assure; to guarantee
3Old Frenchafierto promise; to swear
4Late Latinaffidarepresent active infinitive of affīdō;...
5Vulgar Latinfidare—
6Latinfīdō—
7Proto-Italicfeiðōto trust
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰéydʰetito trust
9Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeydʰ-to compel, force; to trust
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeydʰ- →