Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “jumeau” come from?

jumeau (French) comes from Old French gemel, from Latin gemellus, from Latin -lus, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

jumeau (French): twin

Definitions

  1. twin

Ancestry of “jumeau”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgemel—
2Latingemellustwin
3Latin-lusAlternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix
4Proto-Italic-elos—
5Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
6Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “jumeau”

  • trijumeau
  • jumeler
  • jimo
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →