jambe (French)
Where does "jambe" come from?
The French noun 'jambe', meaning 'leg'[1], is inherited from Old French 'jambe'[1][2]. This Old French term traces back to Late Latin 'gamba'[1][2], which originated from Ancient Greek 'κάμπη'[2] or 'καμπή', meaning 'fixture, bend, winding'[3]. Going further back, the Ancient Greek forms developed from Proto-Hellenic '*kampā́', which stemmed from Proto-Indo-European '*kh₂emp-' and ultimately '*kh₂em-', meaning 'bend, curve'[4][5].
Open questions
- The intermediate steps connecting Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Hellenic and Ancient Greek involve reconstructed forms. [4] [5]
Full etymology tree
- jambe (French), 'leg'
- inherited jambe (Old French), 'leg'
- inherited gamba (Latin), 'hock, shank'
- inherited καμπή (kampḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'winding, such as of a river'
- inherited *kampā́ (*kampā́) (Proto-Hellenic)
- inherited *kh₂emp- (*kh₂emp-) (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kh₂em- (*kh₂em-) (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bend, to curve'
- inherited *kh₂emp- (*kh₂emp-) (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kampā́ (*kampā́) (Proto-Hellenic)
- inherited καμπή (kampḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'winding, such as of a river'
- inherited gamba (Latin), 'hock, shank'
- inherited jambe (Old French), 'leg'
Ancestors
- jambe (Old French)
- gamba (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- à toutes jambes (French)
- avoir des fourmis dans les jambes (French)
- avoir les jambes en coton (French)
- avoir une tête et des jambes (French)
- enjamber (French)
- faire des ronds de jambe (French)
- faire une belle jambe (French)
- jambage (French)
- jambe de bois (French)
- jambière (French)
- jambon (French)
- la queue entre les jambes (French)
Sources
- jambe (French) - Wiktionary
- jambe (Old French) - Wiktionary
- gamba (Latin) - Wiktionary
- καμπή (kampḗ) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- κάμπη (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris