English
fetti
Fetti may come from Spanish feria ‘fair’, from Latin fēriae ‘holy day’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁s2‘god, godhead, deity’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁s-yo-s2uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēziās2uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēriae3‘holy day’uncertain
- Spanishc. 1500–presentferia3‘fair’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1992fetti3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin feriae
- 3 Wiktionary, English fetti
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1992, Let's Get Drunk: “I can't get enough of that fetti for real…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s‘to do’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁sWiktionary, Latin feriae‘god, godhead, deity’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéh₁s-yo-sWiktionary, Latin feriaeuncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fēziāsWiktionary, Latin feriaeuncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēriaeWiktionary, English fetti‘holy day’uncertain
- Spanishc. 1500–presentferiaWiktionary, English fetti‘fair’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1992fettiWiktionary, English fetti. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1992, Let's Get Drunk: “I can't get enough of that fetti for real…”
The story
Probably a shortened form of Spanish feria (‘fair; street market; (slang) money’), itself from Latin fēriae (‘holy day; vacation; any occasion of rest’), thus making the term a doublet of fair. The fact that usage of fetti appears to be centred around California, where feria (‘money’) is also commonly used, makes a derivation from Spanish more plausible.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fan, benefit, fashion, mid, defense, theme, feature, custom, sufficient, defence, treasury, treasure, ethnic, thesis, ethical, doom, defendant, deed, aesthetic, synthetic, auditorium, auditor, tick, demi, deem, spade, ethic, familial, medial, thematic, medallion, forfeit, ethos, duma, thesaurus, spatula, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s ‘god, godhead, deity’
theology, dis, feast, atheist, atheism, profanity, fanatic, feral, profane, theism, fane, apotheosis, theist, 23 more
through Latin fēriae ‘holy day’
through Spanish feria ‘fair’
Today it means
noun Money.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “fetti”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s, Latin feriae. 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- / fetti