Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “gehenne” come from?

gehenne (Middle French) comes from Old French gehine, from Old French gehir, from Frankish jehhjan, from Proto-Germanic jehaną, from Proto-Indo-European yék-e-ti, from Proto-Indo-European yek- — to utter.

Ancestry of “gehenne”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgehinepunishment resulting from admission of guilt;...
2Old Frenchgehirto admit, confess, acknowledge
3Frankishjehhjanto say, confess
4Proto-Germanicjehanąto speak, say, express
5Proto-Indo-Europeanyék-e-ti—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanyek-to utter

Words derived from “gehenne”

  • gêne
  • gene
  • jenă
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yek- →