Where does “bien-dire” come from?

bien-dire (French) comes from French bien, from Middle French bien, from Old French bien, from Latin bene, from Latin bonus, from Old Latin duenos, from Proto-Italic dwenos, from Proto-Indo-European dew- — to show favour, revere; to fail, to lag, to be...

bien-dire (French): elegant language

Definitions

  1. elegant language

Ancestry of “bien-dire”, step by step

bien-dire traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French bien

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbiengood, all right, great; good looking, nice; well
2Middle Frenchbienwell
3Old Frenchbienwell; indeed; possession; object of value
4Latinbenewell; properly, exactly; agreeably, favorably
5Latinbonusgood, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant;...
6Old LatinduenosAlternative form of duonus
7Proto-Italicdwenosgood
8Proto-Indo-Europeandew-to show favour, revere; to fail, to lag, to be...

via French dire

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdireto say, to tell; saying; belief, opinion
2Middle Frenchdireto say
3Old Frenchdireto say; to recount
4Latindīcere
5Proto-Italicdeikōshow, indicate; refer to; say, tell
6Proto-Indo-Europeandeyḱ-to point out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dew-
bien-dire — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer