Where does “autrefois” come from?
autrefois (French) comes from French autre, from Middle French aultre, from Old French autre, from Old French vie, from Old French viḍe, from Latin vitam, from Latin vīta, from Latin vīvō — to live.
autrefois (French): previously; formerly , erstwhile
Definitions
- previously; formerly , erstwhile
Ancestry of “autrefois”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | autre | other; another |
| 2 | Middle French | aultre | other; another; someone else; another person |
| 3 | Old French | autre | Alternative form of altre; other |
| 4 | Old French | vie | life |
| 5 | Old French | viḍe | — |
| 6 | Latin | vitam | accusative singular of vīta |
| 7 | Latin | vīta | — |
| 8 | Latin | vīvō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | gʷīwō | live, be alive |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷíh₃weti | to live, to be alive |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |