Where does “personnel” come from?
personnel (French) comes from Old French personel, from Latin persōnālis, from Latin persōna, from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖, from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον, from Ancient Greek ὤψ, from Proto-Hellenic ókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European h₃ókʷs — to see; eye.
personnel (French): personal; staff, members of staff, personnel
Definitions
- personal; staff, members of staff, personnel
Ancestry of “personnel”, step by step
personnel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French personel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | personel | personal |
| 2 | Latin | persōnālis | personal; of or belonging to a person |
| 3 | Latin | persōna | mask |
| 4 | Etruscan | 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 | a mask; a masked individual, often performing in... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πρόσωπον | face, visage, countenance; front; mask |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | eye |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |
via Late Latin personalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | personalis | of a person, personly; personal; of or belonging... |
| 2 | Latin | -alis | Used to form adjectives of relationship from... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | -li- | — |