enfranchise

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
2. Proto-Italic*en
3. Proto-Italic*en-
4. Latinin-
5. Old Frenchen-
6. Proto-Germanic*frankô
7. Frankish*Frankō
8. Latinfrancus
9. Old Frenchfranc
10. Old Frenchfranchir
11. Old Frenchenfranchir
12. Anglo-Normanenfrauncher
13. Middle Englishenfraunchisen
14. English todayenfranchise

From Late Middle English enfraunchisen, enfrauncheisen (“to grant (someone) citizenship; to grant (someone) membership of a guild, etc.; to grant (a town) privileges”), from enfranchiss-, a stem of Anglo-Norman enfrauncher and its etymon Old French enfranchir (“to set free, enfranchise”), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + franchir (“to set free”) (from franc (“free”, adjective) + -ir (suffix forming infinitives of second-conjugation verbs)). Franc is derived from Medieval Latin francus (“free”, adjective), from Francus (“(adjective) of or relating to the Franks, Frankish; (noun) Frankish person, Frank”) (as full freedom was only possessed by people of the dominant Frankish group in Gaul), from Frankish *Frankō (“Frankish person, Frank”), probably from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”) (probably the weapon commonly used by the Franks), further etymology unknown. By surface analysis, en- + franchise.

Words from the same roots