Where does “rien” come from?

rien (French) comes from Middle French rien, from Old French rien, from Latin rem, from Latin rēs, from Latin vindicatio, from Latin vindicō, from Latin vindex, from Latin dīcō — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

rien (French): nothing; anything

Definitions

  1. nothing; anything

Ancestry of “rien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchrienthing
2Old Frenchrienthing; object; being; creature; thing
3Latinremaccusative singular of rēs
4Latinrēsthing, object, stuff
5Latinvindicatiocivil lawsuit; protection, defence; vindication;...
6Latinvindicōto lay claim to as one's own (often with sibi)
7Latinvindexclaimant, vindicator
8Latindīcōto say, talk, speak, utter, mention
9Latin-tiōtion, -ation, -ing
10Latindissertātiō(spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition
11Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
12Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
13Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
14Latincalceusshoe
15Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
16Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “rien

Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξEvery word from Latin -tiōEvery word from Latin dis-