Where does “prendre sa plume” come from?
prendre sa plume (French) comes from French prendre, from Middle French prendre, from Old French prendre, from Latin prendere, from Latin prehendere, from Latin prae-, from Proto-Italic prai-, from Proto-Indo-European preh₂- — passed , crossed.
prendre sa plume (French): To take up one's pen, to write a letter
Definitions
- To take up one's pen, to write a letter
Ancestry of “prendre sa plume”, step by step
prendre sa plume traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French prendre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | prendre | to take; to eat; to drink; to get; to buy |
| 2 | Middle French | prendre | to take |
| 3 | Old French | prendre | to take |
| 4 | Latin | prendere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 5 | Latin | prehendere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 6 | Latin | prae- | before; in front; in charge |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | prai- | pre-, before |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via French plume
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | plume | feather; quill; nib, the writing end of a... |
| 2 | Italian | piuma | feather, plume; down; plumage |
| 3 | Spanish | pluma | feather; pen, fountain pen; ballpoint pen |
| 4 | Latin | plūma | feather, plume |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | plouksmā | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plúnksneh₂ | feather |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plú-n-k- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |