Where does “beauté” come from?
beauté (French) comes from Middle French beauté, from Old French biauté, from Vulgar Latin bellitas, from Latin bellus, from Latin villus, from Latin vellus, from Proto-Indo-European h₂welh₁- — to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool.
beauté (French): beauty
Ancestry of “beauté”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | beauté | Alternative form of beaulté |
| 2 | Old French | biauté | beauty |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | bellitas | beauty |
| 4 | Latin | bellus | beautiful, pretty, handsome; pleasant, agreeable,... |
| 5 | Latin | villus | hair, tuft of hair, shaggy hair |
| 6 | Latin | vellus | The wool shorn from a sheep; fleece; wool; The... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂welh₁- | to rule; strong, powerful; hair; wool |