Etymograph

English

ouvrier

Ouvrier comes from French ouvrier ‘worker, labourer’, from Latin opera ‘work, labor’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos1‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos1‘work’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus1‘work, labor, accomplishment’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera1‘work, labor’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperārius2‘labouring, working’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ovrier2‘worker’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentouvrier3‘worker, labourer’
  9. Englishtodayouvrier3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin operarius
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French ouvrier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English ouvrier

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, Latin operarius‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃éposWiktionary, Latin operarius‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oposWiktionary, Latin operarius‘work’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopusWiktionary, Latin operarius‘work, labor, accomplishment’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperaWiktionary, Latin operarius‘work, labor’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperāriusWiktionary, French ouvrier‘labouring, working’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ovrierWiktionary, French ouvrier‘worker’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentouvrierWiktionary, English ouvrier‘worker, labourer’
  9. EnglishtodayouvrierWiktionary, English ouvrier

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’

office, official, bus, copy, omnibus, copious, opulence, officiate, omnivore, officiant, officious, 19 more

through Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’

cooperation, operative, cooperate, opus, 7 more

through Latin opera ‘work, labor’

operation, operate, operator, opera, ure, oeuvre, operetta, 9 more

Today it means

noun A French labourer or manual worker.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ouvrier”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin operarius, French ouvrier. 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 *h₃ep- / ouvrier

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