English
avenue
Avenue comes from Old French avenir ‘approach’, and goes back to Latin adveniō ‘come to’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniōas adveniō‘come to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400avenir‘approach’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400avenuefeminine past participle of avenir
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1642same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadveniōas adveniō‘come to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400avenir‘approach’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400avenuefeminine past participle of avenir
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1642same form
Earliest quotation: 1642, James Howell, Section III: “[S]ome have used to get on the top of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’
come, coming, base, basic, basis, bass, cum, revenue, pug, contravention, quim, 56 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’
through Proto-Italic *gʷəniō ‘to come’
through Latin veniō ‘come’
event, convention, inventory, intervene, inventor, invent, souvenir, provenance, convene, revenant, misadventure, circumvention, contravene, 21 more
through Latin adveniō ‘come to’
Today it means
noun A broad street, especially one bordered by trees or, in cities laid out in a grid pattern, one that is on a particular side of the city or that runs in a particular direction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin adveniō / avenue