Where does “gentilhomme” come from?
gentilhomme (French) comes from French homme, from Middle French homme, from Old French home, from Latin homō, from Old Latin hemō, from Proto-Italic hemō, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰmṓ, from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm.
gentilhomme (French): gentleman
Definitions
- gentleman
Ancestry of “gentilhomme”, step by step
gentilhomme traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French homme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | homme | man; man, Man |
| 2 | Middle French | homme | man |
| 3 | Old French | home | man; vassal; manservant |
| 4 | Latin | homō | human, person, man |
| 5 | Old Latin | hemō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | hemō | man |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰmṓ | earthling |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéǵʰōm | earth |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ōm | emphatic suffix or postpositive particle |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -mi | — |
via French gentil
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | gentil | helpful, kind; pleasant, amiable, nice;... |
| 2 | Old French | gentil | noble; courteous; courtly |
| 3 | Latin | gentīlis | of or belonging to the same family or gēns: kinsman |
| 4 | Latin | -ilis | -ile |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -elis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -elis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |