Where does “désespérer” come from?
désespérer (French) comes from French espérer, from Middle French esperer, from Old French esperer, from Latin spērō, from Latin spes, from Proto-Italic spēs, from Proto-Indo-European spéh₁s, from Proto-Indo-European speh₁- — to succeed, to prosper.
désespérer (French): to despair
Ancestry of “désespérer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | espérer | to hope; to hope for; to have faith, to trust |
| 2 | Middle French | esperer | to hope |
| 3 | Old French | esperer | to hope |
| 4 | Latin | spērō | — |
| 5 | Latin | spes | hope; expectation, anticipation, apprehension |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | spēs | hope |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spéh₁s | prosperity, success |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | speh₁- | to succeed, to prosper |