Where does “merci” come from?
merci (Middle French) comes from Old French merci, from Latin mercēs, from Latin merx, from Proto-Italic *merks.
Ancestry of “merci”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | merci | mercy; clemency |
| 2 | Latin | mercēs | — |
| 3 | Latin | merx | merchandise, commodity; goods, wares |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | *merks | — |
Words derived from “merci”