Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “tartuffe” come from?

tartuffe (French) comes from Italian tartufo, from Medieval Latin territuberum, from Latin terrae, from Latin terra, from Proto-Italic terzā, from Proto-Indo-European ters-eh₂, from Proto-Indo-European ters- — dry.

Ancestry of “tartuffe”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiantartufotruffle; hypocrite; tartuffe; first-person...
2Medieval Latinterrituberum—
3Latinterraenominative plural of terra; genitive singular of...
4Latinterraground, dry land; earth, soil, dirt; Earth's...
5Proto-Italicterzā—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanters-eh₂—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanters-dry
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ters- →