deux (French)
Where does "deux" come from?
The French word "deux" traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term "*dwóh₁," which signified the number two. This concept traveled through Proto-Italic and Latin as "duōs" into Old and Middle French, eventually evolving into the modern spelling used today.
Full etymology tree
- deux (French), 'two'
- inherited deux (Middle French), 'two'
- inherited deus (Old French), 'two'
- inherited duōs (Latin), 'accusative masculine of duo'
- inherited duō (Latin), 'two; 2'
- inherited *duō (Proto-Italic), 'two'
- inherited *dwóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'two'
- inherited *duō (Proto-Italic), 'two'
- inherited duō (Latin), 'two; 2'
- inherited duōs (Latin), 'accusative masculine of duo'
- inherited deus (Old French), 'two'
- inherited deux (Middle French), 'two'
Ancestors
- deux (Middle French)
- deus (Old French)
- duos (Latin)
- *duō (Proto-Italic)
- *dwóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- à deux balles (French)
- à deux pas (French)
- à deux vitesses (French)
- comme pas deux (French)
- de deux (French)
- de deux choses l'une (French)
- de deux maux, il faut choisir le moindre (French)
- de mes deux (French)
- deux avis valent mieux qu'un (French)
- deux cents (French)
- deux paires (French)
- deux poids et deux mesures (French)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris