Etymograph

English

manicure

Manicure comes from French manucure ‘manicurist’, from Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra1
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentmanucure1‘manicurist’
  5. Englishtodaymanicure1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English manicure

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, English manicure‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, English manicure‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, English manicure
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentmanucureWiktionary, English manicure‘manicurist’
  5. EnglishtodaymanicureWiktionary, English manicure

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’

shire, curate, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’

ensure, assure, insure, procurator, 5 more

through Latin cūra

sure, security, secure, proxy, procurement, curator, incurable, sicker, curation, 10 more

Today it means

noun A cosmetic treatment for the fingernails.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “manicure”. 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 *kʷeys- / manicure

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