Where does “pure” come from?
Pure comes from Middle English pur, from Old French pur, from Latin purus meaning "clean" or "unmixed," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots relating to purification and separation.
pure (English): Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied; Free...
Definitions
- Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied; Free...
Ancestry of “pure”, step by step
pure traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English pure
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | pure | pure, unadulterated, undiluted, untarnished;... |
| 2 | Old French | pur | pure; Alternative form of por |
| 3 | Old French | autre | Alternative form of altre; other |
| 4 | Old French | vie | life |
| 5 | Old French | viḍe | — |
| 6 | Latin | vitam | accusative singular of vīta |
| 7 | Latin | vīta | life |
| 8 | Latin | vīvō | to live |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | gʷīwō | live, be alive |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷíh₃weti | to live, to be alive |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |