Where does “où” come from?
où (Middle French) comes from Latin aut, from Proto-Italic *auti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ewti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ew, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰe.
où (Middle French): where
Ancestry of “où”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | aut | or |
| 2 | Proto-Italic | *auti | — |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ewti | on the other hand |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ew | away from, off; again |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰe | — |