vivre (French)
Where does "vivre" come from?
The French verb 'vivre' means to live or to experience[1]. It is inherited from Middle French and Old French 'vivre'[1][2][3], which trace back to Latin 'vīvere'[1][2][3]. The Latin term descends from Proto-Italic '*gʷīwō', originating from the Proto-Indo-European root '*gʷíh₃weti', meaning 'to live, be alive'[1][4][5][6].
Open questions
- The verb may alternatively derive from an irregular dissimilation of an isolated reduplicating thematic present from a lost root. [5]
Full etymology tree
- vivre (French), 'to live'
- inherited vivre (Middle French), 'to live'
- inherited vivre (Old French), 'to live'
- inherited vivere (Latin), 'present active infinitive of vīvō'
- inherited *gʷīwō (Proto-Italic), 'to live, to be alive'
- derived *gʷíh₃weti (Proto-Indo-European), 'to live, to be alive'
- inherited *gʷīwō (Proto-Italic), 'to live, to be alive'
- inherited vivere (Latin), 'present active infinitive of vīvō'
- inherited vivre (Old French), 'to live'
- inherited vivre (Middle French), 'to live'
Ancestors
- vivre (Middle French)
- vivre (Old French)
- vivo (Latin)
- *gʷīwō (Proto-Italic)
- *gʷíh₃weti (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- âme qui vive (French)
- art de vivre (French)
- faire bon vivre (French)
- ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants (French)
- joie de vivre (French)
- l'espoir fait vivre (French)
- on ne vit qu'une fois (French)
- pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés (French)
- qui vit par l'épée périra par l'épée (French)
- qui vivra verra (French)
- sentir le vécu (French)
- sur le qui-vive (French)
Sources
- vivre (French) - Wiktionary
- vivre (Middle French) - Wiktionary
- vivre (Old French) - Wiktionary
- vivo (Latin) - Wiktionary
- gʷíh₃weti (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- gʷīwō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris