Where does “poys” come from?

poys (Middle English) comes from Middle French pois, from Latin pēnsum, from Latin pendō, from Proto-Italic pendō, from Proto-Indo-European (s)péndeti, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- — to stretch.

Ancestry of “poys”, step by step

poys traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle French pois

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpoisweight
2Latinpēnsumallotment, portion, weight (of wool measured out to a slave to spin in a day)
3Latinpendōto weigh, weigh out
4Proto-Italicpendōhang, put in a hanging position
5Proto-Indo-European(s)péndeti—
6Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

via Proto-Brythonic puɨs

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Brythonicpuɨsweight

via Anglo-Norman pois

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanpoisthen; since; weight

Words derived from “poys”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)péndeti →Every word from Proto-Italic pendō →