Where does “contre-jour” come from?
contre-jour (French) comes from French jour, from Middle French jour, from Old French jor, from Latin diurnum, from Latin diurnus, from Latin diēs, from Proto-Italic djēm, from Proto-Italic *djous — to be bright; sky, heaven.
contre-jour (French): backlighting
Ancestry of “contre-jour”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | jour | day; daylight, light; opening, aperture |
| 2 | Middle French | jour | — |
| 3 | Old French | jor | day |
| 4 | Latin | diurnum | masculine accusative singular of diurnus; neuter... |
| 5 | Latin | diurnus | of the day; daily; day |
| 6 | Latin | diēs | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | djēm | accusative singular of *djous |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *djous | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dyḗws | sky, heaven; sky god |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dyéws | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dyew- | to be bright; sky, heaven |