Where does “phiz” come from?
phiz (English) comes from English physiognomy, from Middle French phisonomie, from Anglo-Norman phisenomie, from Late Latin physiognomia, from Ancient Greek φυσιογνωμία, from Ancient Greek φύσις, from Ancient Greek φύω, from Proto-Indo-European bʰuHyéti — he, she.
phiz (English): The face
Ancestry of “phiz”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | physiognomy | The art or pseudoscience of deducing the... |
| 2 | Middle French | phisonomie | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | phisenomie | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | physiognomia | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | φυσιογνωμία | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | φύσις | origin, birth; nature, quality, property; later,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | φύω | To bring forth, produce, generate, cause to grow;... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuHyéti | to be becoming, to be growing, to be appearing |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |