Where does “champagne” come from?
champagne (Old French) comes from Late Latin campania, from Latin campus, from Proto-Indo-European kh₂emp-, from Proto-Indo-European kh₂em- — to bend, to curve.
Ancestry of “champagne”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | campania | open country, battlefield; field; level country |
| 2 | Latin | campus | Open flat level ground: a plain, a natural field;... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂emp- | to bend; crooked; to bend, curve |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂em- | to bend, to curve |