ease

The story

1. Middle English · inherited fromesen
2. Celtic · derived from
3. Germanic · derived from
4. Latin · derived fromadjacēns“adjacent, neighbouring”
5. Vulgar Latin · derived from*adjace(m)
6. Frankish · derived from*ansiju“handle, loophole, eyelet; cup-handle; arms akimbo, elbow room”
7. Latin · derived fromānsa“handle, haft”
8. Vulgar Latin · derived from*āsia
9. Old French · derived fromeise
10. Anglo-Norman · derived fromese“ease”
11. Middle English · inherited fromese
12. English todayease

From Middle English ese, eise, aise, from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise, aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Apparently related to Provençal ais, Italian agio and asio, Sicilian aciu and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Vulgar Latin *āsia or *āsium, possibly from Latin ānsa (“handle, haft”) or Frankish *ansiju (“handle, loophole, eyelet; cup-handle; arms akimbo, elbow room”), but more often derived from Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjacēns (“adjacent, neighbouring”), present participle of adjaceō (“lie next to, border on”), though the forms and senses are difficult to trace clearly. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English īeþe (“easy”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐌹 (azēti, “ease; pleasure”), *𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*azēts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). See also eath. The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

Words from the same roots