Where does “élan” come from?
élan (French) comes from French élancer, from French es-, from Latin ex, from Latin commūnicō, from Latin commūnis, from Old Latin com(m)oinis, from Proto-Italic kommoinis, from Proto-Indo-European ḱom-moy-ni- — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
élan (French): spirit; momentum; run up
Definitions
- spirit; momentum; run up
Ancestry of “élan”, step by step
élan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French élancer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | élancer | to dash forward, to throw oneself at; to soar up |
| 2 | French | es- | — |
| 3 | Latin | ex | A name of the letter "X"; out of, from |
| 4 | Latin | commūnicō | to impart, share |
| 5 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 6 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 11 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 12 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 13 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 14 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 15 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |