Where does “femelle” come from?
femelle (Middle French) comes from Old French femele, from Latin femella, from Latin -lus, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
femelle (Middle French): female
Definitions
- female
Ancestry of “femelle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | femele | female |
| 2 | Latin | femella | girl, young woman; vocative singular of femella;... |
| 3 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |