Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “viril” come from?

viril (Middle French) comes from Latin virilis, from Latin vir, from Proto-Italic wiros, from Proto-Indo-European wiHrós, from Proto-Indo-European weyh₁- — to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute.

Ancestry of “viril”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvirilismanly, masculine, virile; mature
2Latinvirman in the sense of "adult male human"; adult,...
3Proto-Italicwirosa man
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanwiHrósman; husband; warrior, hero
5Proto-Indo-Europeanweyh₁-to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute

Words derived from “viril”

  • virile
  • virility
  • virilization
  • virilism
  • virilisation
  • virilize
  • undervirilization
  • supervirile
  • virilely
  • unvirile
  • invirile
  • supervirility
  • nonvirile
  • virilise
  • ultravirile
  • viriloid
  • invirility
  • virilescent
  • nonvirility
  • unvirility
  • devirilize
  • ultravirility
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyh₁- →