Where does “ouïr” come from?
ouïr (Middle French) comes from Old French oir, from Latin audire, from Latin audio, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ew-is-d-, from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- — to do, put, place.
Ancestry of “ouïr”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | oir | to listen; to hear |
| 2 | Latin | audire | present active infinitive of audiō; second-person... |
| 3 | Latin | audio | I hear, listen to; I attend, pay attention to; I... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ew-is-d- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰeh₁- | to do, put, place |