Where does “elegant” come from?
elegant (German) comes from Middle French elegant, from Latin ēlegāns, from Latin ēligere, from Latin ēligō, from Latin legō, from Latin lēx, from Proto-Italic lēg-, from Proto-Indo-European leǵ-s — to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...
elegant (German): elegant
Definitions
- elegant
Ancestry of “elegant”, step by step
elegant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French elegant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | elegant | elegant |
| 2 | Latin | ēlegāns | fine, elegant, handsome |
| 3 | Latin | ēligere | — |
| 4 | Latin | ēligō | to choose, to pluck or root out, extract |
| 5 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 6 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via French élégant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | élégant | elegant |