pied (French)
Where does "pied" come from?
The French word 'pied' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *pṓds, meaning 'foot,' which also serves as the ancestor to the English word 'foot.' It evolved through Latin as 'pedem' into Old French 'pié' before settling into its modern form. Interestingly, the final 'd' was later added to the French spelling to better reflect its ancient Latin connection.
Full etymology tree
- pied (French), 'foot'
- inherited pied (Middle French), 'foot'
- inherited pié (Old French), 'foot'
- inherited pes (Latin), 'a foot, in its senses as'
- inherited *pets (Proto-Italic), 'foot'
- inherited *pṓds (Proto-Indo-European), 'foot'
- compound *ped- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to walk, to step'
- compound *-s (Proto-Indo-European), 'Derives feminine mobile-accented root nouns from roots.'
- inherited *pṓds (Proto-Indo-European), 'foot'
- inherited *pets (Proto-Italic), 'foot'
- inherited pes (Latin), 'a foot, in its senses as'
- inherited pié (Old French), 'foot'
- inherited pied (Middle French), 'foot'
Ancestors
- pied (Middle French)
- pié (Old French)
- pes (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- peu (Catalan)
- foot (French)
- piede (Italian)
- pėda (Lithuanian)
- پا (Persian)
- pé (Portuguese)
- pie (Spanish)
Descendants and derived words
- à cloche-pied (French)
- à pied (French)
- à pied d'œuvre (French)
- à pieds joints (French)
- au pied (French)
- au pied de la lettre (French)
- au pied du mur (French)
- au pied levé (French)
- avec des pieds de plomb (French)
- avoir le pied marin (French)
- avoir les pieds sur terre (French)
- avoir pied (French)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris