"Cheval comes from the Latin equus. The letter u was written v, which gave
equus = eqvus = quevus.
"This word became quevalus, which finally gave cheval."
We might exclaim with d'Aceilly:
"Cheval vient d'equus, sans doute;
Mais il faut convenir aussi
Qu'à venir de là jusqu'ici,
Il a bien changé sur la route." [ [9]
This boy's method is, after all, a return to the old methods. If we consult Ménage's Etymological Dictionary, we see that he easily derives rat from mus, and haricot from faba, to take only two instances of the method.