English
fondue
Fondue comes from French fondue ‘melted’, from fondre ‘to melt’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundere1‘to melt’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fondre1‘to melt’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfondre2‘to melt’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfondue2‘melted’
- Englishtodayfondue2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, French fondre
- 2 Wiktionary, English fondue
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, French fondre‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, French fondre‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundereWiktionary, French fondre‘to melt’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fondreWiktionary, French fondre‘to melt’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfondreWiktionary, English fondue‘to melt’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfondueWiktionary, English fondue‘melted’
- EnglishtodayfondueWiktionary, English fondue
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’
yet, refuse, confused, gut, fuse, diffusion, font, infusion, perfusion, effusive, profusion, effusion, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’
founder, confusion, fusion, refund, funnel, confuse, diffuse, infuse, confound, 41 more
through Old French fondre ‘to melt’
through French fondre ‘to melt’
Today it means
noun A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “fondue”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French fondre. 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 *ǵʰewd- / fondue