Where does “rousseur” come from?
rousseur (French) comes from French rousse, from French roux, from Old French ros, from Latin russus, from Latin Russia, from Old East Slavic Русь, from Finnish ruotsi, from Proto-Finnic *roocci — to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare.
rousseur (French): redness, russet colour
Ancestry of “rousseur”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | rousse | feminine singular of roux; redhead |
| 2 | French | roux | russet; ginger; redhead |
| 3 | Old French | ros | reed, tooth of a weaver's comb |
| 4 | Latin | russus | red, reddish-brown |
| 5 | Latin | Russia | — |
| 6 | Old East Slavic | Русь | Rus; Ruthenia |
| 7 | Finnish | ruotsi | Swedish |
| 8 | Proto-Finnic | *roocci | — |
| 9 | Old Swedish | roþs- | related to rowing |
| 10 | Old Norse | róðr | — |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | rōþrą | oar; rudder |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁reh₁- | to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare |