Where does “tâtonnement” come from?

tâtonnement (French) comes from French tâtonner, from French tâter, from Old French taster, from Vulgar Latin tastare, from Latin taxāre, from Latin Taxus, from Ancient Greek εἶδος, from Spanish -scopio — to see, to look, to observe.

tâtonnement (French): groping; trial and error

Definitions

groping; trial and error

Ancestry of “tâtonnement”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	French	tâtonner	to feel one's way, grope around
2	French	tâter	to feel; to get a feel for
3	Old French	taster	to taste; to touch; to hit; to strike
4	Vulgar Latin	tastare	to touch, feel; present active infinitive of...
5	Latin	taxāre	—
6	Latin	Taxus	yew
7	Ancient Greek	εἶδος	That which is seen: form, image, shape;...
8	Spanish	-scopio	-scope
9	Latin	-scopium	—
10	Ancient Greek	σκοπέω	I look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413...
11	Ancient Greek	σκοπός	watcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout
12	Ancient Greek	σκέπτομαι	I look at, examine; I examine, consider, think
13	Proto-Hellenic	sképťomai	to look at
14	Proto-Indo-European	spéḱyeti	to be looking at, to keep looking at
15	Proto-Indo-European	speḱ-	to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “tâtonnement”

tatonnement

Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →