Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “à l'erte” come from?

à l'erte (French) comes from Italian all'erta, from Italian erta, from Italian erto, from Latin ērectus, from Latin ērigō, from Latin regō, from Proto-Italic regō, from Proto-Indo-European h₃réǵeti — to straighten, to right oneself; right; just.

à l'erte (French): on the watch

Definitions

  1. on the watch

Ancestry of “à l'erte”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianall'ertaAlternative spelling of allerta; to the height
2Italianertafeminine singular of erto; steep slope
3Italianertosteep
4Latinērectus—
5Latinērigō—
6Latinregō—
7Proto-Italicregō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃réǵetito be straightening, to be setting upright
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵ-to straighten, to right oneself; right; just

Words derived from “à l'erte”

  • alert
  • alertness
  • alertly
  • hyperalert
  • hyperalertness
  • unalert
  • overalertness
  • overalert
  • superalert
  • e-alert
  • alertless
  • alerta
  • alertement
  • alerte
  • alerter
  • alert
  • lerta
  • mallerta
  • alert
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ- →