Where does “attaché” come from?
Attaché comes from French attaché, derived from the French verb attacher, which traces back through Old French atachier and estachier to Proto-Germanic stikaną meaning to pierce or stick.
attaché (English): A diplomatic officer, usually one who plays a...
Definitions
- A diplomatic officer, usually one who plays a...
Ancestry of “attaché”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | attaché | past participle of attacher; attached |
| 2 | French | attacher | to affix, bind, tie something to something else,... |
| 3 | Old French | atachier | to attach |
| 4 | Old French | estachier | Alternative form of atachier; bind; to fasten... |
| 5 | Old French | estache | stake; strap |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | staca | a stake |
| 7 | Gothic | 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌺𐌰 | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | stakô | stake |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)teg- | to cover; pole, stick, beam |
Words derived from “attaché”