Where does “cê-cedilha” come from?
cê-cedilha (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese cê, from Portuguese você, from Portuguese vosmecê, from Portuguese vossemecê, from Old Portuguese vossa mercee, from Latin vostra, from Latin voster, from Latin vester — Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix.
Ancestry of “cê-cedilha”, step by step
cê-cedilha traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Portuguese cê
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | cê | cee; you |
| 2 | Portuguese | você | you; you; one |
| 3 | Portuguese | vosmecê | Archaic form of você |
| 4 | Portuguese | vossemecê | Archaic form of você |
| 5 | Old Portuguese | vossa mercee | — |
| 6 | Latin | vostra | Alternative form of vestra |
| 7 | Latin | voster | Alternative form of vester; your, plural... |
| 8 | Latin | vester | your, yours, of you |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | westeros | your |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -teros | Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix |