Where does “la” come from?

la (Spanish) comes from Portuguese lá, from German a, from German a-Moll, from Hungarian a, from French à, from English avie, from French envie, from Latin invidia — in.

la (Spanish): feminine singular definite article; the

Definitions

  1. feminine singular definite article; the

Ancestry of “la”, step by step

la traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Portuguese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Portuguesethere; used with an adverb phrase to indicate...
2GermanaAlternative form of A; Abbreviation of a-Moll;...
3Germana-MollA-minor
4Hungarianathe; this; that
5Frenchàto; on the, to; at
6Englishavieemulously
7Frenchenviedesire, lust, urge; appetite, craving; envy
8Latininvidiaenvy, grudge, jealousy, prejudice, spite; an...
9Latininvidusenvious; hostile, inimical
10LatininvideoI look askance or maliciously at, cast an evil...
11Latinīn-un-, non-, not
12Latinînin, at, on, upon, from (space)
13Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
14Proto-Italicenin
15Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

via Old Spanish ela

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Spanishela
2Latinillanominative feminine singular of ille; nominative...

via Latin labii

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinlabiigenitive singular of labium; lip’s

Words derived from “la

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én