Where does “oui” come from?
Oui comes from Old French oil, a contraction of Old French o il combining Latin oculus meaning "eye" with Latin ille meaning "that," ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European h₃ekʷ- and al-.
oui (English): Synonym of yes
Ancestry of “oui”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | ouï | past participle of ouïr |
| 2 | Old French | oïl | Alternative form of oil; yes |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | oclus | eye; Alternative form of oculus |
| 4 | Latin | oculus | An eye; the power of sight; a spot resembling an... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | okʷelos | eye |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |