Where does “eau de vie” come from?
eau de vie (English) comes from French eau-de-vie, from Medieval Latin aqua vitae, from Latin vita, from Latin vivo, from Proto-Italic gʷīwō, from Proto-Indo-European gʷíh₃weti, from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- — to live.
eau de vie (English): brandy or similar spirit
Ancestry of “eau de vie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | eau-de-vie | brandy |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | aqua vitae | distilled alcohol; spirits |
| 3 | Latin | vita | life; living, support, subsistence; a way of life |
| 4 | Latin | vivo | I live; I am alive, I survive; I reside in |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | gʷīwō | live, be alive |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷíh₃weti | to live, to be alive |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |