Where does “contretemps” come from?

contretemps (French) comes from French temps, from Old French temps, from Latin tempus, from Proto-Indo-European tempos, from Proto-Indo-European temp- — to extend, stretch, span; to stetch, string; to...

contretemps (French): a contretemps, a hitch, a hold-up, a setback

Definitions

  1. a contretemps, a hitch, a hold-up, a setback

Ancestry of “contretemps”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtempstime; weather; tense
2Old Frenchtempsweather
3Latintempustime, period, age; season; kairos, right time,...
4Proto-Indo-Europeantemposstretch
5Proto-Indo-Europeantemp-to extend, stretch, span; to stetch, string; to...

Words derived from “contretemps”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European temp- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tempos →Every word from Latin tempus →
contretemps — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer