Where does “personal” come from?

personal (Middle English) comes from Old French personel, from Latin persōnālis, from Latin persōna, from Etruscan 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖, from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον, from Ancient Greek ὤψ, from Proto-Hellenic ókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European h₃ókʷs — to see; eye.

Ancestry of “personal”, step by step

personal traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French personel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpersonelpersonal
2Latinpersōnālispersonal; of or belonging to a person
3Latinpersōnamask
4Etruscan𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖a mask; a masked individual, often performing in...
5Ancient Greekπρόσωπονface, visage, countenance; front; mask
6Ancient Greekὤψto the eye; in the face; eye
7Proto-Hellenicókʷseye
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ókʷseye
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ekʷ-to see; eye

via Anglo-Norman personel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanpersonelpersonal
2Latinpersonalispersonal; of or belonging to a person
3Latin-alisUsed to form adjectives of relationship from...
4Proto-Indo-European-li-—

via Old French personal

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpersonal—

Words derived from “personal”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ekʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ókʷs →Every word from Proto-Hellenic ókʷs →