Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “merde” come from?

merde (French) comes from Middle French merde, from Old French merde, from Latin merda, from Proto-Italic (s)merdā, from Proto-Indo-European smerd-h₂- — stench.

merde (French): shit!, crap!; break a leg!; turd, piece of feces,...

Definitions

  1. shit!, crap!; break a leg!; turd, piece of feces,...

Ancestry of “merde”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmerdeshit
2Old Frenchmerdeshit
3Latinmerdadung, excrement, shit
4Proto-Italic(s)merdā—
5Proto-Indo-Europeansmerd-h₂-stench

Words derived from “merde”

  • merde
  • merd
  • merdiquer
  • merdique
  • emmerder
  • démerder
  • merdeux
  • emmerdeur
  • écrase-merde
  • merder
  • emmerdement
  • merdier
  • merda
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smerd-h₂- →