Etymograph

English

femme

Femme comes from Old French fame ‘woman, especially one of lower social status’, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ ‘􂀿the one􂁀 nursing, breastfeeding’, and ultimately from *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-1‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂1‘􂀿the one􂁀 nursing, breastfeeding’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanā1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanā1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfemina2‘woman’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fame2‘woman, especially one of lower social status’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femme2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1885femme2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin femina
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English femme
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night: “Then I turned to him and said, "O my…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-Wiktionary, Latin femina‘to suckle, nurse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂Wiktionary, Latin femina‘􂀿the one􂁀 nursing, breastfeeding’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēmanāWiktionary, Latin feminareconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēmanāWiktionary, Latin feminareconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfeminaWiktionary, English femme‘woman’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fameWiktionary, English femme‘woman, especially one of lower social status’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500femmeWiktionary, English femme
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1885femmeWiktionary, English femme. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night: “Then I turned to him and said, "O my…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’

doe, tyre, fetus, dai, felicity, fawn, filial, fellatio, fecundity, dahi, 30 more

through Latin femina ‘woman’

female, feminist, feminine, feminism, femininity, effeminate, 9 more

through Old French fame ‘woman, especially one of lower social status’

fame

Today it means

noun A woman; a wife; (now chiefly Canada, US) a young woman or girl.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “femme”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin femina. 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 *dʰeh₁(y)- / femme

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