Where does “francais” come from?
Francais comes from Middle French françois, from Old French françois meaning "of France," derived from Latin Francia, ultimately from Frankish Frank, a people whose name may trace to Proto-Indo-European prAng-.
francais (English): French
Definitions
- French
Ancestry of “francais”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | français | French; Franco-American or Francophone |
| 2 | Middle French | françois | Alternative form of françoys |
| 3 | Old French | françois | French; the French language |
| 4 | Old French | -ois | used to form nationalities; used to form names of... |
| 5 | Latin | -ensis | Of or from |
| 6 | Latin | arvum | field; farm land |
| 7 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 8 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |