Where does “laissez-faire” come from?
laissez-faire (English) comes from English laissez faire, from French laisser faire, from French faire, from Middle French faire, from Old French faire, from Latin faciō, from Latin -torium, from Latin -tōrius.
laissez-faire (English): Alternative form of laissez faire
Definitions
- Alternative form of laissez faire
Ancestry of “laissez-faire”, step by step
laissez-faire traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English laissez faire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | laissez faire | A policy of governmental non-interference in... |
| 2 | French | laisser faire | Let someone do as they please; To not intervene;... |
| 3 | French | faire | to do |
| 4 | Middle French | faire | to do; to make; to choose; to elect |
| 5 | Old French | faire | to do |
| 6 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 7 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 8 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 9 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via French laissez-faire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | laissez-faire | Alternative form of laisser-faire |
| 2 | French | laisser-faire | laissez faire |