Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “plein” come from?

plein (French) comes from Old French plein, from Latin plēnus, from Proto-Italic plēnos, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.

plein (French): full, full up; plenty; solid

Definitions

  1. full, full up; plenty; solid

Ancestry of “plein”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpleinfull
2Latinplēnus—
3Proto-Italicplēnosfull
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥h₁nósfull
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₁-to fill

Words derived from “plein”

  • plen
  • archiplein
  • trop-plein
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- →