Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “avow” come from?

Avow derives from Middle English avowen, from Old French avouer, from Latin advoco meaning "to call to," composed of Latin ad- and the root Latin wekʷ- meaning "to speak."

avow (English): To declare openly and boldly, as something...

Definitions

  1. To declare openly and boldly, as something...

Ancestry of “avow”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishavowen—
2Old Frenchavouer—
3Latinadvocāre—
4LatinAd—
5Latinilliche, she, it, yonder, that, overthere; in that...
6Latinillethat; those; "; demonstrative pronoun "; that...
7LatinolleArchaic form of ille
8Proto-Italic*olnos—

Words derived from “avow”

  • avowed
  • avowal
  • avowedly
  • disavow
  • unavowed
  • unavowable
  • avowable
  • avower
  • avoweth
  • avowest
  • disavowable
  • disavowment
  • disavower
  • reavow
  • avowably
  • reavowal
  • avowance
  • avowedness
  • disavowance
  • avowableness
Every word from Proto-Italic *olnos →