Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “e” come from?

e (French) comes from French a, from French elle, from Old French ele, from Latin āla, from Latin axla, from Latin axis, from Proto-Italic aksis, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱs- — to drive.

Ancestry of “e”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchaa, The name of the Latin-script letter A;...
2Frenchelleshe; it; disjunctive form of elle; her; à elle =...
3Old Frencheleshe; wing
4Latināla—
5Latinaxla—
6LatinaxisAn axletree of wagon, car, chariot; The North...
7Proto-Italicaksis—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eḱs-axis, axle
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →