Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “français” come from?

français (French) comes from Middle French françois, from Old French françois, from Old French -ois, from Latin -ensis, from Latin arvum, from Latin colō, from Latin quelō, from Proto-Italic kʷelō — to turn.

français (French): French; Franco-American or Francophone

Definitions

  1. French; Franco-American or Francophone

Ancestry of “français”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle FrenchfrançoisAlternative form of françoys
2Old FrenchfrançoisFrench; the French language
3Old French-oisused to form nationalities; used to form names of...
4Latin-ensisOf or from
5Latinarvumfield; farm land
6Latincolō—
7Latinquelō—
8Proto-Italickʷelō—
9Proto-Indo-Europeankʷéleti—
10Proto-Indo-Europeankʷel-to turn

Words derived from “français”

  • francais
  • francese
  • filofrancese
  • protofrancese
  • antifrancese
  • francesistica
  • anglofrancese
  • francesizzare
  • francesizzazione
  • ancien français
  • antifrançais
  • françaisement
  • Fransız
  • Fransızca
  • francez
  • ฝรั่งเศส
  • فرانسز
  • fransè
  • phonsáyna
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- →