Etymograph

English

faith

Faith comes from Old French fei, foi, from Latin fidēs ‘faith, trust’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to trust’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-1‘to command, persuade, trust’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēs1‘faith, belief; reliance’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400foi1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feith1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611faith1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English faith
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-Wiktionary, English faith‘to command, persuade, trust’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidēsWiktionary, English faith‘faith, belief; reliance’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400foiWiktionary, English faith
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feithWiktionary, English faith
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611faithWiktionary, English faith. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said,…”

Linked words

through Latin fidem

fay, foy, foi

Today it means

noun A trust or confidence in the intentions or abilities of a person, object, or ideal from prior empirical evidence.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “faith”. 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-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- / faith

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