Where does “folly” come from?
Folly comes from Old French folie, derived from Old French fol, which developed from Latin follis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.
folly (English): Foolishness; Thoughtless action resulting in...
Definitions
- Foolishness; Thoughtless action resulting in...
Ancestry of “folly”, step by step
folly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English folie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | folie | Alternative form of folye |
| 2 | Old French | folie | madness; insanity |
| 3 | Old French | -ie | indicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one |
| 4 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 5 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via Middle English fol
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | fol | Alternative form of fole |