Where does “selves” come from?
selves (French) comes from French selve, from Portuguese selva, from Latin silva, from Proto-Indo-European sēl- — to calm, quiet, be favourable.
selves (French): plural of selve
Ancestry of “selves”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | selve | Tropical forest, in particular Amazonian... |
| 2 | Portuguese | selva | jungle; woods, forest; mass, multitude, forest |
| 3 | Latin | silva | wood, forest; orchard, grove |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sēl- | to calm, quiet, be favourable |