Where does “tout le monde” come from?
tout le monde (English) comes from French tout le monde, from French tout, from Middle French tout, from Old French tôt, from Vulgar Latin tōttus, from Latin tōtus, from Latin tot, from Proto-Indo-European toti — this; that.
tout le monde (English): everyone, everybody
Ancestry of “tout le monde”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | tout le monde | everyone, everybody |
| 2 | French | tout | whole, entirety, total; all; everything |
| 3 | Middle French | tout | all; all of; all; completely; totally; entirely |
| 4 | Old French | tôt | — |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | tōttus | — |
| 6 | Latin | tōtus | — |
| 7 | Latin | tot | so many |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | toti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |