Random French etymology question.

[go_team]

Ami and Amie (the masculine and feminine words for "friend", respectively) seem to me to come from the verm aimer, which is "to like/to love". So I can, if I choose to, literally translate "friend" as "beloved (one)" or at least "beliked (one)". Or am I just making shit up with my non-native-speaker weirdness? Similarly, famille (the word for "family", and pretty clearly the source of the English word or at least a cognate or whatever; I'm probably misusing the jargon but I'm tired, okay?) seems to have a form of aimer built in as well? All this comes up because I was trying to translate the phrase "friends and family" into French, and the asinine wordplay part of my brain started taking over, and I figured better to go all hyperanalytical than try to make puns in a language I'm really only barely conversant in... but I could be wrong or maybe not even wrong, on many levels. Must. Sleep.

Comments

[pants-of-doom.livejournal.com]

I think 'amie' and 'ami' are related to 'aimer', although I got this through thinking about 'amiable'. I don't think 'famille' is related.

[noggie.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a case for linguaphiles!

[segnbora.livejournal.com]

Given that the French for boyfriend/girlfriend is "petit(e) ami(e)" (little friend?), it seems to me sensible to assume aimer in the sense of "love" is related to ami(e). "Beliked one" sounds fun but would probably confuse most English speakers.