1670s, from Old French voir "true" (from Latin verus "true," from PIE root *were-o- "true, trustworthy") + dire "to say" (from Latin dicere "speak, tell, say," from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly").
Entries linking to voir dire
*were-o-
*wērə-o-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "true, trustworthy."
It forms all or part of: aver; Varangian; veracious; veracity; verdict; veridical; verify; verisimilitude; verism; veritas; verity; very; voir dire; warlock.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin verus "true;" Old Church Slavonic vera "faith," Russian viera "faith, belief;" Old English wær "a compact," Old Dutch, Old High German war, Dutch waar, German wahr "true;" Welsh gwyr, Old Irish fir "true."
*deik-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to show," also "pronounce solemnly," "also in derivatives referring to the directing of words or objects" [Watkins].
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit dic- "point out, show;" Greek deiknynai "to show, to prove," dike "custom, usage;" Latin dicere "speak, tell, say," digitus "finger," Old High German zeigon, German zeigen "to show," Old English teon "to accuse," tæcan "to teach."