Where does “Crème fraîche” come from?
Crème fraîche (German) comes from French crème fraîche, from French crème, from Middle French chresme, from Old French cresme, from Late Latin crama, from Late Latin chrisma, from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα, from Ancient Greek χρίω — to rub; to stroke; to grind.
Crème fraîche (German): crème fraîche
Ancestry of “Crème fraîche”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | crème fraîche | crème fraîche, slightly sour thick soured cream;... |
| 2 | French | crème | cream; cool; café crème |
| 3 | Middle French | chresme | — |
| 4 | Old French | cresme | cream |
| 5 | Late Latin | crama | skim; nominative plural of crāmum; accusative... |
| 6 | Late Latin | chrisma | ointment |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | χρῖσμα | anointing, unction; wall coating, plaster |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χρίω | to smear with , rub on something; to anoint with... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰrēy- | to smear; to paint, streak, smear |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰer- | to rub; to stroke; to grind |