personne (French)

Where does "personne" come from?

The French word 'personne' is inherited from Middle French, which came from Old French 'persone'[1][3]. This Old French form derives from the Latin 'persona'[1][3]. The ultimate origin of the Latin word remains unknown, though it has been suggested to come from Etruscan[1][2].

Open questions

• The origin of the Latin word persona is unknown, with competing proposals including derivation from Etruscan or connection to personare. [1] [2]

Full etymology tree

• personne (French), 'no one, nobody'
  • inherited personne (Middle French)
    • inherited persone (Old French), 'person; individual'
      • inherited persona (Latin), 'mask'
        • derived 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖𐌍𐌀 (φersuna) (Etruscan)
          • derived 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu) (Etruscan), 'The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:'
          • derived πρόσωπον (prósōpon) (Ancient Greek), 'face, visage, countenance'

Ancestors

• persone (Old French)
• persona (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• personne (Louisiana Creole)

Sources

1. personne (French) - Wiktionary
2. persona (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. persone (Old French) - Wiktionary
4. πρόσωπον (prósōpon) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
5. 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu) (Etruscan) - Wiktionary
6. ὤψ (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
7. h₃ókʷs (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
8. ókʷs (Proto-Hellenic) - Wiktionary
9. ὄσσε (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris