Where does “pays” come from?

pays (Middle French) comes from Old French païs, from Medieval Latin pagensis, from Latin pāgus, from Proto-Italic pāgos, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵos, from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵ- — to attach.

pays (Middle French): land; country; region

Definitions

  1. land; country; region

Ancestry of “pays”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old FrenchpaïsAlternative form of pais; country
2Medieval Latinpagensis—
3Latinpāgusdistrict, canton, region
4Proto-Italicpāgos—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ǵos—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ǵ-to attach

Words derived from “pays”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂ǵos →Every word from Proto-Italic pāgos →