Etymology Explorer › Haitian Creole

Where does “pouvwa” come from?

pouvwa (Haitian Creole) comes from French pouvoir, from Middle French povoir, from Old French povoir, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potere, from Latin possum, from Proto-Italic *possom.

pouvwa (Haitian Creole): power

Definitions

  1. power

Ancestry of “pouvwa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchpouvoircan, to be able to; may; to be possible; may,...
2Middle Frenchpovoircan; be able to; power
3Old Frenchpovoir—
4Old FrenchpoeirAlternative form of pooir
5Vulgar Latinpotereto be able; second-person singular present...
6LatinpossumI am able, I can, I may
7Proto-Italic*possom—
Every word from Proto-Italic *possom →