Where does “contenance” come from?
contenance (French) comes from Middle French countenance, from Old French countenance, from Old French contenant, from Latin continentia, from Latin continēns, from Latin contineo, from Latin cōn-, from Latin cum — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
contenance (French): capacity; composure
Definitions
- capacity; composure
Ancestry of “contenance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | countenance | — |
| 2 | Old French | countenance | appearance; countenance |
| 3 | Old French | contenant | — |
| 4 | Latin | continentia | nominative neuter plural of continēns; accusative... |
| 5 | Latin | continēns | limiting, enclosing |
| 6 | Latin | contineo | I hold or keep together/close, surround, contain;... |
| 7 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 8 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 9 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 13 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 14 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 15 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 16 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 17 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |