cuisse (French)
Where does "cuisse" come from?
French cuisse comes down from Old French cuisse, which in turn developed from Late Latin coxa, meaning “thigh.” Behind the Latin form lies Proto-Italic *koksā and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *koḱs-, a root meaning “joint” or “limb.” Over time, the sense narrowed from a general body part to the specific “thigh” in French, with a later extended use for a fruit segment by resemblance in shape.
Full etymology tree
- cuisse (French), 'thigh'
- inherited from cuisse (Old French), 'thigh'
- inherited from coxa (Latin), 'hip (joint), hipbone'
- inherited from *koksā (Proto-Italic), 'hip, joint'
- inherited from *koḱs- (Proto-Indo-European), 'joint'
- inherited from *koksā (Proto-Italic), 'hip, joint'
- inherited from coxa (Latin), 'hip (joint), hipbone'
- inherited from cuisse (Old French), 'thigh'
Descendants and derived words
- cuish (English)
- cuisse (English)
- quish (English)
- avoir la cuisse accueillante (French)
- avoir la cuisse gaie (French)
- avoir la cuisse hospitalière (French)
- avoir la cuisse légère (French)
- écarter les cuisses (French)
- se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter (French)
- kwis (Haitian Creole)
Updated March 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris