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Origin and history of *eu-

*eu-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to dress," with extended form *wes- (2) "to clothe."

It might form all or part of: divest; exuviae; invest; revetment; transvestite; travesty; vest; vestry; wear.

It might also be the source of: Hittite washshush "garments," washanzi "they dress;" Sanskrit vaste "he puts on," vasanam "garment;" Avestan vah-; Greek esthes "clothing," hennymi "to clothe," eima "garment;" Latin vestire "to clothe;" Welsh gwisgo, Breton gwiska; Old English werian "to clothe, put on, cover up," wæstling "sheet, blanket."

Entries linking to *eu-

divest(v.)

1560s, devest (modern spelling is c. 1600), "strip of possessions," from French devester "strip of possessions" (Old French desvestir), from des- "away" (see dis-) + vestir "to clothe," from Latin vestire "to clothe" (from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of root *eu- "to dress").

The etymological sense of "strip of clothes, arms, or equipage" is from 1580s. Meaning "strip by some definite or legal process" is from 1570s. Economic sense "sell off (a subsidiary company, later an investment) is by 1961. Related: Divested; divesting.

exuviae(n.)

"cast-off skins, shells, or other coverings of animals," 1650s, Latin, literally "that which is stripped off," hence "slough, skin," also "clothing, equipment, arms, booty, spoils," from stem of exuere "to doff," from ex "off" (see ex-) + from PIE root *eu- "to dress" (also found in Latin induere "to dress," reduvia "fragment").

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invest
late 14c., "to clothe in the official robes of an office," from Latin investire "to clothe in, cover, surround," from in "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + vestire "to dress, clothe," from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of root *eu- "to dress." The meaning "use money
vest
early 15c., "to put in possession of a person," from Old French vestir "to clothe; get dressed," from Medieval Latin vestire "to put into possession, to invest," from Latin vestire "to clothe, dress, adorn," related to vestis "garment, clothing," from PIE *wes-ti-, suffixed form
vestry
mid-15c., probably from Anglo-French *vesterie, from Old French vestiaire "room for vestments, dressing room" (12c.), from Latin vestarium "wardrobe," noun use of neuter of vestiarius (adj.) "of clothes," from vestis "garment" (from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of roo
utopia
Commonly, but incorrectly, taken as from Greek eu- "good" (see eu-) an error reinforced by the introduction of dystopia (...
spout
flow, spout"), North Frisian spütji "spout, squirt," Swedish sputa "to spout," from Proto-Germanic *sput- (from PIE *sp(y)eu...
clue
The word, which is native Germanic, in Middle English was clewe, also cleue; some words borrowed from Old French in -ue, -eu...
remedy
c. 1200, remedie, "means of counteracting sin or evil of any kind; cure for a vice or temptation;" late 14c., "a cure for a disease or disorder, medicine or process which restores health;" from Anglo-French remedie, Old French remede "remedy, cure" (12c., Modern French remède) an
disappoint
mid-15c., disappointen, "dispossess of appointed office," from dis- "reverse, opposite of" + appoint, or else from Old French desapointer "undo the appointment, remove from office" (14c., Modern French from désappointer). Modern sense of "to frustrate the expectations or desires
dearth
c. 1300, derthe "scarcity of food," of other situations of scarcity by mid-14c., abstract noun from root of Old English deore "precious, costly" (see dear) + abstract noun suffix -th (2). A common Germanic formation, though not always with the same sense (Old Saxon diurtha "splen
habitat
"area or region where a plant or animal naturally grows or lives," 1762, originally a technical term in Latin texts on English flora and fauna, literally "it inhabits," third person singular present indicative of habitare "to live, inhabit, dwell," frequentative of habere "to hav

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