Where does “doyenne” come from?

doyenne (French) comes from French doyen, from Old French deien, from Latin decānus, from Latin decem, from Latin -nus, from Proto-Italic -nos, from Proto-Indo-European -nós — Creates verbal adjectives from roots.

doyenne (French): The oldest woman; A female dean at an educational...

Definitions

  1. The oldest woman; A female dean at an educational...

Ancestry of “doyenne”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdoyendean; senior member, doyen
2Old Frenchdeien
3Latindecānuschief of ten people (in various contexts)
4Latindecemten; 10
5Latin-nus-an
6Proto-Italic-nosCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems
7Proto-Indo-European-nósCreates verbal adjectives from roots

Words derived from “doyenne

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -nós