Where does “jeu de mots” come from?

jeu de mots (French) comes from French jeu, from Old French geu, from Latin iocus, from Proto-Italic jokos, from Proto-Indo-European yokos, from Proto-Indo-European yek- — to utter.

jeu de mots (French): pun, play on words

Definitions

  1. pun, play on words

Ancestry of “jeu de mots”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchjeugame; play; set
2Old Frenchgeugame
3Latiniocusa joke, jest; a form of amusement; pastime, sport
4Proto-Italicjokosword, saying
5Proto-Indo-Europeanyokosword, utterance
6Proto-Indo-Europeanyek-to utter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yek- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European yokos →Every word from Proto-Italic jokos →