Guêpe
/ɡɛp/noun
A wasp, especially in French usage or as a French loanword.
Did you know?Vespa, the scooter brand, literally means “wasp” in Italian and comes from the same ancient root as French guêpe and English wasp.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wopsā
“A wasp or stinging insect; the reconstructed ancestral form behind several European insect names.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vespa
“Wasp.”
Old French
Old French
guespe
“Wasp; a sound-altered descendant of Latin vespa.”
Middle French
French
guêpe
“Wasp.”
Modern English
English loanword
guêpe
“A wasp, generally used in contexts retaining French terminology.”