Etymology

course

C3O1U1R1S1E1

Today it means: A sequence of events. Full definition →

Middle English cours ← Old French cours ← Latin cursus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱers-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱr̥séti
  3. Proto-Italic*korsō
  4. Latincurrō
  5. Latincursus
  6. Old Frenchcours
  7. Middle Englishcours
  8. English todaycourse

From Middle English cours, from Old French cours, from Latin cursus (“course of a race”), from currō (“run”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of cursus and cour.

Words from the same roots

Latincursus all →

corsaircursivecursushussar

Proto-Indo-European*ḱers- all →

horserushhurryrecurexcursusCuronianexcursesupracargo

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.