Where does “vis-à-vis” come from?

vis-à-vis (Polish) comes from French vis-à-vis, from Old French vis, from Latin vīsus, from Proto-Celtic wissos, from Proto-Indo-European widtós, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.

vis-à-vis (Polish): opposite

Definitions

  1. opposite

Ancestry of “vis-à-vis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchvis-à-visFacing, face-to-face; A meeting, especially a...
2Old Frenchvisface; opinion
3Latinvīsushaving been seen
4Proto-Celticwissosknown
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwidtósseen; known
6Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European widtós →Every word from Proto-Celtic wissos →
vis-à-vis — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer