Where does “auteur” come from?
auteur (French) comes from Middle French autheur, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor, from Latin augeō, from Proto-Italic augeō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂owg-éye-ti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ewg-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂weg-.
auteur (French): author
Definitions
- author
Ancestry of “auteur”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | autheur | author |
| 2 | Old French | autor | author; creator; instigator |
| 3 | Latin | auctor | seller, vendor; author; authorship, agency,... |
| 4 | Latin | augeō | to increase, augment, enlarge, spread, expand |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | augeō | to increase; to enlarge |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂owg-éye-ti | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ewg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂weg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ug- | — |