oui (English)
Where does "oui" come from?
The word 'oui' traces its roots to the Old French 'oïl', which likely evolved from the Vulgar Latin phrase 'hoc ille', meaning 'this [is what] he [said]'. This phrase combined a simple affirmative particle 'hoc', derived from Proto-Indo-European demonstratives, with the pronoun 'ille'. Over centuries of semantic erosion, this demonstrative response compressed into a simple affirmative, eventually becoming the modern French 'oui' adopted into English.
Full etymology tree
- oui (English), 'Synonym of yes.'
- borrowed oui (French), 'yes'
- inherited oïl (Old French), 'alternative form of oil'
- compound o (Old French)
- inherited hoc (Latin), 'nominative/accusative neuter singular of hic (“this”)'
- compound il (Old French), 'he (third-person masculine singular subject pronoun)'
- inherited illī (Latin), 'inflection of ille:'
- inherited ille (Latin), 'that, yon; those'
- inherited olle (Latin), 'Old Latin form of ille'
- inherited ille (Latin), 'that, yon; those'
- inherited illī (Latin), 'inflection of ille:'
- compound o (Old French)
- inherited oïl (Old French), 'alternative form of oil'
- borrowed oui (French), 'yes'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris