Where does “vis-à-vis” come from?

vis-à-vis (English) comes from French vis-à-vis, from Old French vis, from Latin vīsus, from Proto-Celtic wissos, from Proto-Indo-European widtós, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.

vis-à-vis (English): In relation to; compared with; Opposite, across...

Definitions

  1. In relation to; compared with; Opposite, across...

Ancestry of “vis-à-vis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchvis-à-visFacing, face-to-face; A meeting, especially a...
2Old Frenchvisface; opinion
3Latinvīsushaving been seen
4Proto-Celticwissosknown
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwidtósseen; known
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see

Words derived from “vis-à-vis”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European widtós →Every word from Proto-Celtic wissos →