Etymology

cul-de-sac

Today it means: A blind alley or dead end street. Full definition →

French cul-de-sac ← Old French sac ← Latin saccus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kewH-der.?
  2. Latincūlus
  3. Old Frenchcul
  4. Middle Frenchcul
  5. Frenchcul
  6. Proto-Indo-European*de
  7. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  8. Proto-Italic*dē
  9. Latindē
  10. Old Frenchde
  11. Middle Frenchde
  12. Frenchde
  13. Ancient Greekσᾰ́κκος (sắkkos)
  14. Latinsaccus
  15. Old Frenchsac
  16. Frenchsac
  17. Frenchcul-de-sac
  18. English todaycul-de-sac

Borrowed from French cul-de-sac, from cul (“bottom”) + de (“of”) + sac (“bag, sack”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.