Etymograph

English

coudee

Coudee comes from French coudée ‘cubit’, from coude ‘elbow’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *kubāō ‘to lie down’.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kubāō1‘to lie down’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubō1‘lie down, recline’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubitus1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubitum2‘elbow’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400code2
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoude3‘elbow’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoudée3‘cubit’
  8. Englishtodaycoudee3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cubitum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French coude
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English coudee

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kubāōWiktionary, Latin cubitum‘to lie down’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubōWiktionary, Latin cubitum‘lie down, recline’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubitusWiktionary, Latin cubitum
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcubitumWiktionary, French coude‘elbow’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400codeWiktionary, French coude
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoudeWiktionary, English coudee‘elbow’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoudéeWiktionary, English coudee‘cubit’
  8. EnglishtodaycoudeeWiktionary, English coudee

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *kubāō ‘to lie down’

incubation, incubus, incubate, 14 more

through Latin cubō ‘lie down, recline’

cube, cubicle, succubus, 13 more

through Latin cubitum ‘elbow’

covid, cubit, 4 more

through Old French code

code, 1 more

Today it means

noun a cubit (distance from the elbow to the end of the middle finger)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “coudee”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cubitum, French coude. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kubāō / coudee

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