Where does “vouchsafe” come from?
Vouchsafe derives from Middle English vouchsafen, blending Old French voucher (to vouch) with safe, ultimately tracing through Latin vocare (to call) and Latin salvus (safe).
vouchsafe (English): To graciously give, to condescendingly grant a...
Definitions
- To graciously give, to condescendingly grant a...
Ancestry of “vouchsafe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | vouch | To take responsibility for; to express confidence... |
| 2 | Middle English | vouchen | — |
| 3 | Old French | vochier | to call; to summon; to claim; to denounce |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | *vocico | — |
| 5 | Latin | vocō | — |
| 6 | Latin | vōx | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | wōks | voice |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wṓkʷs | voice, speech |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wekʷ- | to speak, to sound out |
Words derived from “vouchsafe”