Fièvre
/fjɛvʁ/noun
The French word for fever, an abnormally high body temperature often associated with illness.
Did you know?Fièvre descends from Latin febris, whose deeper Indo-European ancestry is commonly connected with the idea of burning or heat.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰegʷʰ-
“To burn or produce heat; the reconstructed root behind the Latin fever-word family.”
Ancient Latin
Latin
febris
“Fever or a feverish condition.”
Vulgar Latin
Latin
*febria
“The popular spoken form that developed from classical febris.”
Old French
Old French
feivre
“Fever; a disease associated with bodily heat.”
Middle French
Middle French
fièvre
“Fever, with the modern spelling emerging through French linguistic development.”
Modern French
French
fièvre
“Fever; elevated body temperature, as in fièvre jaune, “yellow fever.””