Etymograph

English

fichu

Fichu comes from French fichu ‘(noun) triangular scarf’, from ficher ‘to drive something by its point’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to set up’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-1‘to set up’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgō1‘to fasten, fix’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentficher1‘to drive something by its point’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentfichu1‘(noun) triangular scarf’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1827fichu1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fichu
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, London: Published by Geo[rge] B[yrom] Whittaker: “No. 2.—Carriage Dress. A dress of taffety of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-Wiktionary, English fichu‘to set up’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgōWiktionary, English fichu‘to fasten, fix’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentficherWiktionary, English fichu‘to drive something by its point’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentfichuWiktionary, English fichu‘(noun) triangular scarf’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1827fichuWiktionary, English fichu. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, London: Published by Geo[rge] B[yrom] Whittaker: “No. 2.—Carriage Dress. A dress of taffety of the…”

The story

Borrowed from French fichu (‘(noun) triangular scarf; (adjective) got up, put together’) (in the sense of something thrown on without much thought), from ficher (‘to drive something (such as a nail) by its point’), ultimately from Latin fīgō (‘to fasten, fix; to pierce, transfix; to drive (a nail)’), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (‘to set up’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to set up’

final, fine, finish, definition, dig, infinite, ditch, infinity, finite, dyke, fin, dike, financier, infinitive, fino, finis, finial, 22 more

through Latin fīgō ‘to fasten, fix’

fix, suffix, crucify, 13 more

Today it means

noun A woman's lightweight triangular scarf worn over the shoulders and tied in front, or tucked into a bodice to cover the exposed part of the neck and chest.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fichu”. 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 *dʰeygʷ- / fichu

Shirt and support for this word