Where does “vis-à-vis” come from?
vis-à-vis (German) comes from French vis-à-vis, from Old French vis, from Latin vīsus, from Proto-Celtic wissos, from Proto-Indo-European widtós, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.
vis-à-vis (German): vis-à-vis
Ancestry of “vis-à-vis”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | vis-à-vis | Facing, face-to-face; A meeting, especially a... |
| 2 | Old French | vis | face; opinion |
| 3 | Latin | vīsus | — |
| 4 | Proto-Celtic | wissos | known |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | widtós | seen; known |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | weyd- | to see |