Where does “gros mot” come from?

gros mot (French) comes from French mot, from Middle French mot, from Old French mot, from Medieval Latin mota, from Frankish *mot, from Proto-Germanic *motta, from Proto-Germanic mutô, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mut- — dark, dirty.

gros mot (French): dirty word, swear word

Definitions

  1. dirty word, swear word

Ancestry of “gros mot”, step by step

gros mot traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French mot

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmotword; note, message
2Middle Frenchmotword
3Old Frenchmotword; Alternative form of molt
4Medieval Latinmotaa mound, hill; nominative feminine singular of...
5Frankish*mot
6Proto-Germanic*motta
7Proto-Germanicmutô
8Proto-Indo-European(s)mut-dark, dirty

via French gros

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchgrosbig, thick, fat; coarse, rough; famous
2Old Frenchgrosbig; large
3Latingrossuscoarse, unrefined; young, green, immature; thick,...
4Old High Germangrōzbig, large, thick; great; large, thick, coarse
5Proto-West Germanicgraut
6Proto-Germanicgrautazcoarse, crude; big, large
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰer-to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mut-