Reconstruction:Latin/ecce iste

This Latin entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

• *eccum iste

From eccistum, an expression meaning 'here he is', changed into a regular determiner. Alternately a separate formation from ecce + iste.

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡seste/

*ecce iste m (feminine *ecce ista, neuter *ecce istum) (Proto-Gallo-Romance)

1. this

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.)

• *ecce ille

• Franco-Provençal: ceti, ceta, cetos, cetes
• Old French: cist, cest, ceste, cez, ces, cestui, cestei, cestor
  • Middle French: cest, ceste, ces, cestui, cestei (rare, dialectal)
    • French: cet, cette, ces, cetui (archaic, dialectal), cetei (dialectal, Burgundy)