Where does “double entendre” come from?
double entendre (English) comes from French entendre, from Middle French entendre, from Old French entendre, from Latin intendere, from Latin intendo, from Latin in-, from Latin in, from Old Latin en — in.
double entendre (English): A phrase that has two meanings, especially where...
Definitions
- A phrase that has two meanings, especially where...
Ancestry of “double entendre”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | entendre | to hear; to be able to hear; to listen to |
| 2 | Middle French | entendre | to hear; to understand |
| 3 | Old French | entendre | to hear; to understand |
| 4 | Latin | intendere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 5 | Latin | intendo | I stretch out; I strain; I turn my attention to,... |
| 6 | Latin | in- | un-, non-, not; in, within, inside |
| 7 | Latin | in | in, at, on, upon, from; within, while in; into,... |
| 8 | Old Latin | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |