Where does “gentillet” come from?
gentillet (French) comes from French gentil, from Old French gentil, from Latin gentīlis, from Latin -ilis, from Proto-Italic -elis, from Proto-Indo-European -elis, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
gentillet (French): pretty nice; nice little
Ancestry of “gentillet”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | gentil | helpful, kind; pleasant, amiable, nice;... |
| 2 | Old French | gentil | noble; courteous; courtly |
| 3 | Latin | gentīlis | — |
| 4 | Latin | -ilis | -ile |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -elis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -elis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |