Old French words from Greek
6 Old French words with Greek in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
base
It is borrowed from Latin basis (“pedestal, foundation”), itself from Ancient Greek βάσις (básis, “stepping, step; base”). The Greek noun belongs to βαίνω (baínō, “to walk, go”), and the DHLF…
corde
It continues inherited from Latin chorda (“string of an instrument; rope”), which is from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “guts; string of gut”). Bloch and Wartburg note that the Latin word, properly a…
cuer
1. The word for the heart is inherited from Vulgar Latin *corem, from Latin cor (“heart”). Bloch and Wartburg and Gamillscheg start from a popular Latin declension with the oblique stem *coris in…
noise
Its origin is uncertain. Most sources take it as inherited from Latin nausea (“seasickness, nausea”). The Latin word is from Ancient Greek ναυσία (nausía, “seasickness”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”)…
pasté
It is formed from Old French paste (“dough”) + -é, with the suffix that continues Latin -ātum. Gamillscheg thinks it replaced an older word that had been given up because it coincided with the word…
pesche
It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *pessica, from Late Latin persica (“peach”). The Late Latin noun was the neuter plural of persicum, taken as a feminine singular, and that word was shortened from…