Where does “pouponnière” come from?
pouponnière (French) comes from French pouponner, from French poupon, from French poupard, from French poupée, from Middle French poupée, from Old French poupée, from Latin pupa, from Latin pupus — few, little; smallness.
pouponnière (French): nursery, creche
Ancestry of “pouponnière”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | pouponner | to dote; to look after a baby |
| 2 | French | poupon | little baby; baby doll |
| 3 | French | poupard | chubby baby; chubby, plump |
| 4 | French | poupée | doll |
| 5 | Middle French | poupée | doll, toy |
| 6 | Old French | poupée | — |
| 7 | Latin | pupa | girl, little girl; doll, puppet; pupa |
| 8 | Latin | pupus | a boy, a child; a puppet; the pupil of the eye |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂w- | few, little; smallness |