Where does “bête-puante” come from?
bête-puante (French) comes from French puant, from French puer, from Old French puir, from Vulgar Latin putire, from Latin pūteō, from Proto-Italic pūtos, from Proto-Indo-European puHtós, from Proto-Indo-European pewH- — to be clean, pure.
bête-puante (French): skunk
Ancestry of “bête-puante”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | puant | present participle of puer; smelly, stinking |
| 2 | French | puer | to stink, to smell |
| 3 | Old French | puir | to smell ; to stink |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | putire | present active infinitive of *putiō |
| 5 | Latin | pūteō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | pūtos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | puHtós | pure, clean |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pewH- | to be clean, pure |