Where does “fess” come from?
fess (Seychellois Creole) comes from French fesse, from Middle French fesse, from Old French fesse, from Vulgar Latin fissa, from Latin fissum, from Latin fissus, from Proto-Indo-European bʰidtós, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeyd- — bee.
fess (Seychellois Creole): bottom, buttock, arse
Ancestry of “fess”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | fesse | buttock; first-person singular present indicative... |
| 2 | Middle French | fesse | buttock |
| 3 | Old French | fesse | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | fissa | nominative feminine singular of fissus;... |
| 5 | Latin | fissum | nominative neuter singular of fissus; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | fissus | split, cloven |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰidtós | split, cloven |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeyd- | to split |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰey- | bee |