Where does “envoy” come from?
Envoy comes from French envoyé, past participle of French envoyer, from Old French enveier and Old French envoiier, ultimately from Latin via meaning "way" or "path," derived from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ-.
envoy (English): a diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in...
Definitions
- a diplomatic agent of the second rank, next in...
Ancestry of “envoy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | envoyé | past participle of envoyer; envoy; messenger |
| 2 | French | envoyer | to send; to gulp down with relish |
| 3 | Old French | enveier | Alternative form of envoiier |
| 4 | Latin | inviāre | — |
| 5 | Latin | viā | road, street, path |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *wiā | road |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wih₁eh₂- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | weyh₁- | to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute |