200–101 BC

Old French words from Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century BC

3 Old French words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 2nd century BC, earliest Latin record first.

1. estreindre

   195 BC–149 BC

   from Latin stringo

   It is inherited from Latin stringō (“to bind fast, tighten; to strip off”). The Latin verb, with the past participle strictus, belongs to the family of strigilis (“scraper”). Wiktionary traces the…

2. cercle

   140 BC–86 BC

   from Latin circulus

   It is inherited from Latin circulus (“circle, ring, hoop”), a diminutive of circus (“ring, circle”). In the Latin word the middle consonant of the group was kept, as in other groups ending in /l/ or…

3. denier

   116 BC–27 BC

   from Latin denarius

   It is inherited from Latin dēnārius, first a Roman silver coin worth ten asses and in the late Empire a small copper coin. The Latin noun is an adjective, “containing ten”, used as a noun, from dēnī…

All Old French words inherited from Latin, by century →