enfranchisement

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. Englishenfranchise
15. English todayenfranchisement

From enfranchise + -ment (suffix forming nouns meaning the actions or results of actions denoted by the verbs to which it is attached). Enfranchise is derived from Late Middle English enfraunchisen, enfrauncheisen (“to grant (someone) citizenship; to grant (someone) membership of a guild, etc.; to grant (a town) privileges”), from Old French 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 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.

Words from the same roots