Reconstruction:Latin/ecce iste
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
From eccistum, an expression meaning 'here he is', changed into a regular determiner. Alternately a separate formation from ecce + iste.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈt͡seste/
Determiner
*ecce iste m (feminine *ecce ista, neuter *ecce istum) (Proto-Gallo-Romance)
Reconstruction notes
Subsequently, /-e/ → /-i/, which had metaphonic effects in Old French (→ cist). That this change followed the common Proto-Gallo-Roman period, if one can be assumed, is suggested by comparison with the Catalan and Occitan outcomes of *eccum iste, where the stressed vowel underwent no such raising. (Also of note is the apparent survival of final /-e/ in Occitan aqueste.)
Descendants
- Franco-Provençal: ceti, ceta, cetos, cetes
- Old French: cist, cest, ceste, cez, ces, cestui, cestei, cestor