Where does “beauty” come from?
Beauty comes from Middle English beaute, derived from Old French beauté and Old French biauté, ultimately tracing to Latin bellus and Latin bonus, with roots in Proto-Indo-European deu- and Proto-Indo-European dew-.
beauty (English): The quality of being attractive, pleasing, fine...
Definitions
- The quality of being attractive, pleasing, fine...
Ancestry of “beauty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beaute | The quality of being physically appealing;... |
| 2 | Old French | biauté | beauty |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | bellitas | beauty |
| 4 | Latin | bellus | beautiful, pretty, handsome; pleasant, agreeable,... |
| 5 | Latin | villus | hair, tuft of hair, shaggy hair |
| 6 | Latin | vellus | The wool shorn from a sheep; fleece; wool; The... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂welh₁- | to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool |