Where does “countenance” come from?
Countenance comes from Anglo-Norman countenance, from Old French contenant, the present participle of contenir, meaning to hold together or contain, from Latin continere, composed of con- and tenere.
countenance (English): Appearance, especially the features and...
Definitions
- Appearance, especially the features and...
Ancestry of “countenance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | contenaunce | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | countenance | appearance; countenance |
| 3 | Old French | contenant | — |
| 4 | Latin | continentia | nominative neuter plural of continēns; accusative... |
| 5 | Latin | continēns | limiting, enclosing |
| 6 | Latin | contineo | I hold or keep together/close, surround, contain;... |
| 7 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 8 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 9 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |