Where does “rabat-joie” come from?
rabat-joie (French) comes from French joie, from English Joy, from Middle English joye, from Old French joie, from Latin gaudia, from Latin gaudium, from Latin -ium, from Latin -ius — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
rabat-joie (French): killjoy, spoilsport, wet blanket
Definitions
- killjoy, spoilsport, wet blanket
Ancestry of “rabat-joie”, step by step
rabat-joie traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French joie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | joie | joy |
| 2 | English | Joy | A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good |
| 3 | Middle English | joye | joy; elation; gaiety |
| 4 | Old French | joie | joy; Alternative form of jouel |
| 5 | Latin | gaudia | nominative plural of gaudium; accusative plural... |
| 6 | Latin | gaudium | joy, delight |
| 7 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 8 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via French rabattre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | rabattre | to make something lower; to close, shut; to fold... |
| 2 | French | ré- | re- |
| 3 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 4 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 5 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |