Where does “laisser faire” come from?
laisser faire (French) comes from French faire, from Middle French faire, from Old French faire, from Latin faciō, from Latin -torium, from Latin -tōrius, from Latin -tor, from Proto-Italic -tōr.
laisser faire (French): Let someone do as they please; To not intervene;...
Definitions
- Let someone do as they please; To not intervene;...
Ancestry of “laisser faire”, step by step
laisser faire traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French faire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | faire | to do |
| 2 | Middle French | faire | to do; to make; to choose; to elect |
| 3 | Old French | faire | to do |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via French laisser
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | laisser | to leave, to leave behind; to forget, to leave... |
| 2 | Middle French | laisser | to allow; to permit; to leave; to leave alone |
| 3 | Old French | lesser | Alternative form of laissier |
| 4 | Latin | laxō | to extend, expand |
| 5 | Latin | laxus | wide, spacious, roomy; yielding; loose, slack,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)lēg- | to let go; weak, feeble; loose; dissolute, lewd;... |