Where does “affair” come from?
Affair comes from French affaire, formed with the prefix a- (from Ancient Greek ἀ- and Latin ad-) combined with Latin facio meaning "to do," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁-.
affair (English): Something which is done or is to be done;...
Definitions
- Something which is done or is to be done;...
Ancestry of “affair”, step by step
affair traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French affaire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | affaire | affair, business; deal; belonging |
| 2 | Old French | afaire | character; disposition; situation; event;... |
| 3 | Old French | faire | to do |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via Middle English afere
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | afere | — |