Where does “gouverneur” come from?
gouverneur (Middle Dutch) comes from Middle French gouverneur, from Old French gouvreneur, from Latin gubernātor, from Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης, from Ancient Greek -τής, from Ancient Greek πεῖρα, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “gouverneur”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | gouverneur | governor |
| 2 | Old French | gouvreneur | governor; steersman |
| 3 | Latin | gubernātor | Helmsman or pilot of a boat |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | κυβερνήτης | captain, steersman, pilot, navigator; guide,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |