Where does “casse-tête” come from?
casse-tête (French) comes from French tête, from Middle French teste, from Old French teste, from Latin testis, from Latin terstis, from Latin trīstis, from Proto-Indo-European tristh₂s, from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- — to stand.
casse-tête (French): brainteaser, puzzle; headache, problem; warclub
Definitions
- brainteaser, puzzle; headache, problem; warclub
Ancestry of “casse-tête”, step by step
casse-tête traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French tête
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | tête | head; header; a bright spark, a quick study |
| 2 | Middle French | teste | head |
| 3 | Old French | teste | head |
| 4 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 5 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 6 | Latin | trīstis | sad, unhappy, melancholy, morose |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |
via French casser
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | casser | to break; to break up |
| 2 | Old French | quasser | to break; to annul; to quash |
| 3 | Latin | quassō | to shake repeatedly, to quake |
| 4 | Latin | -tō | Forms here |
| 5 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |