English
sou
Sou comes from French sou, from Latin solidus ‘dense, solid, not hollow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘integrate, whole’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘integrate, whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s‘entire’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolidus‘dense, solid, not hollow’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsoldus
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsou
- Englishearliest quotation 1918sou
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘integrate, whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s‘entire’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolidus‘dense, solid, not hollow’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsoldus
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsou
- Englishearliest quotation 1918sou
Earliest quotation: 1918, Katherine Mansfield pseudonym; Kathleen , Je ne parle pas français: “He is grey, flat-footed and withered, with long, brittle…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘integrate, whole’
save, safe, sold, salvation, holocaust, sage, salute, savior, salvage, salvo, salve, salvia, salutation, salutary, salubrious, 22 more
through Proto-Italic *soliðos
solidarity, consolidate, solidify, solidity, solidification, solidus, 6 more
through Latin solidus ‘dense, solid, not hollow’
through Late Latin soldus
through French sou
Today it means
noun An old French copper coin equal to one twentieth of a livre or twelve deniers; one sou is to the livre as one shilling is to the pound.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.