Bolded italicized sections of words indicates the stressed syllable.
DULCE [dulke] > dulce [dultse] > douce [dus] English: (sweet)
DULCE [dulke] > DULCE [dultse] : The hard voiceless velar stop /k/ sound in the Latin “dulce” [dulke] changes to an affricate /ts/ in Old French, due to the /k+vowel/ cluster.
DULCE [dultse] > DULCE [dulse]: The affricate /ts/ in old French becomes a voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ sound in Modern French [dulse].
DULCE [dulse] > DOULCE: An /o/ in a blocked syllable in Classical Latin changes to a high mid rounded /o/ in Vulgar Latin, which evolves to “ou” (high back rounded /u/) in Modern French.
DOULCE > DOUCE: Lenition of liquid alveolar lateral sound /l/ from its vulnerable coda position at the end of the syllable “doul”
DOUCE [duse] >DOUCE [dusə]: The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the old French.
DOUCE [dusə] > DOUCE [dus]: The pronunciation of the final mid central vowel /ə/ is dropped in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
HOMINES > hommes > hommes [om] English: (men/people)
HOMINES > HOMNES: Syncope of unstressed vowel high front unrounded /i/
HOMNES > HOMMES: Progressive assimilation of the cluster /mn/ to /mm/
HOMMES [homes]> HOMMES [homəs]: The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the Old French
HOMMES [homəs] > HOMMES [om]: The initial unvoiced velar approximant /h/ is unpronounced in modern French and Classical Latin. The final /əs/ cluster is unpronounced as well, due to both the lenition of the word final consonant and the evolution of the /e/. The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the old French. The pronunciation of the final mid central vowel /ə/ is then dropped in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
METIPSIMU > meïsme > même [mem] English: (same)
METIPSIMU > METISIMU: Lenition of the voiceless bilabial stop consonant /p/ from coda position
METISIMU > METISMU: Lenition of the unstressed high front unrounded vowel /i/
METISMU > METISME: Word final vowel changes from high back rounded vowel /u/ to high mid central vowel /ə/ “e.”
METISME > MEDISME: The voiceless dental stop consonant /t/ changes to a voiced dental stop /d/.
MEDISME > MEISME: Lenition of vulnerable voiced dental stop consonant /t/ from intervocalic position.
MEISME > MESME: The high front unrounded short vowel /i/ in Classical Latin transforms into the high mid front unrounded vowel /e/ in Vulgar Latin in a blocked syllable, which becomes an /e/ in the Modern French due to its position in a blocked syllable. The /ee/ vowel combination then merges to create a single /e/.
MESME > MÊME: Lenition of voiceless alveolar fricative consonant /s/ in coda position, the circumflex above the “e” denotes this loss.
MÊME [memə] > MÊME [mem]: The final vowel /ə/ in Old French is not pronounced in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
CULPA > culpe > coulpe English: (guilt)
CULPA > CULPE: Word final low front unrounded vowel /a/ changes to high mid front unrounded vowel /e/.
CULPE > COULPE: Classical Latin short /u/ becomes the high mid rounded /o/ in Vulgar Latin, which evolves into the high back rounded /u/ in a blocked syllable, and is represented with the grapheme “ou.”
CULPE [kulpe] > CULPE [kulpə] > CULPE [kulp]: The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the old French. The pronunciation of the final mid central vowel /ə/ is then dropped in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
DEUS > deu > dieu English: (God)
DEUS > DEU [deu]: Lenition of final voiceless alveolar fricative consonant /s/ from vulnerable coda position at the end of syllable /us/
DEU [deu] > DIEU [djew]: Classical Latin short /e/ evolves into the low mid front unrounded vowel /ɛ/ in Vulgar Latin, which diphthongizes into /je/ “ie” in Vulgar Latin its evolution into French.
DIEU [djew] > DIEU [diø]: The pronunciation of the diphthong “eu” changes from /ew/ [djew] in Old French to /iø/ [diø].
LEONIS > leons > lions [ljɔ̃] English: (lion)
LEONIS > LEONS: Syncope of unstressed high front unrounded vowel /i/
LEONS > LiONS: High mid front unrounded /e/ changes to a high front unrounded /i/
LIONS [lions] > LIONS [ljɔ̃]: The alveolar nasal consonant /n/ following the vowel causes nasalization (a nasal pronunciation) of the /io/ diphthong. The final consonant cluster /ns/ undergoes lenition of first the /s/ and then the /n/ going into Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
VITA > vie [viə] > vie [vi] English: (life)
VITA [wida] > VITA [vida]: the back-set semi-consonant/glide /w/ in Classical Latin changes to a fricative labiodental voiced consonant /v/ in French.
VITA > VITE > Vulgar Latin final low front unrounded vowel /a/ changes to high mid front unrounded vowel /ə/ “e” in French.
VITE > VIE: Lenition of the unprotected intervocalic voiceless dental stop consonant /t/ > /d/ > zero.
VIE [viə] > VIE [vi]: The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the old French. The pronunciation of the final mid central vowel /ə/ is then dropped in the Modern French pronunciation, but the grapheme remains.
SANCTI > seint > saint [sɛ̃] English: (saint)
SANCTI > SANTI: Lenition of the voiceless velar stop consonant /k/ “c” from unprotected coda position
SANTI > SENTI: A Classical Latin /a/ remains the same in Vulgar Latin, but then becomes an /e/ in a blocked syllable in Modern French The low mid front vowel /e/ is then nasalized, due to assimilation to the manner of articulation of the alveolar nasal consonant /n/ directly following it.
SENT > SEINT: The nasalization process is represented with the grapheme “ei.”
SEINTI > SEINT: Lenition of the word final vowel unstressed high front unrounded /i/.
SEINT > SAINT: The “ei” cluster then evolves to a low mid front nasal /ɛ̃/, depicted with the grapheme “ai.”
ANIMA > anme > âme [ɑm] English: (soul)
ANIMA > ANMA: Syncope of the unstressed high mid front vowel /i/
ANMA > ANME [anmə]: The final low front unrounded vowel /a/ in the Latin etymon changes to a high mid front unrounded vowel /e/. The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in French.
ANME > AMME: Regressive assimilation of the cluster /nm/ to /mm/
AMME > ÂME: Degemination or lenition of the cluster /mm/ to bilabial nasal consonant /m/. The circumflex accent above the /a/ shows the change.
ÂME [âmə] > ÂME [am]: The final vowel /ə/ is unpronounced in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
SUM > sun > son /sɔ̃/ English: (his)
SUM > SUN: Dissimilation of the bilabial nasal voiced consonant /m/ to the denti-aveolar voiced consonant /n/.
SUN > SON [sɔ̃]: The Classical Latin short /u/ became an /o/ in Vulgar Latin, should have become /u/ “ou” in the blocked syllable. However, this process was blocked by the nasalization of the high mid back rounded vowel /o/, which instead became /ɔ̃/.
POTEST > poet > peut [pø] English: (can)
POTEST > POTET: Lenition of voiceless alveolar fricative syllable /s/ in coda position.
POTET > POET: Lenition of the voiceless dental stop /t/ from its vulnerable intervocalic coda position.
POET > PEUET > PEUT [pøt]: A long /o/ in Classical Latin free syllable becomes an /o/ in Vulgar Latin, which then becomes “eu” [ø] in Modern French. The new /eue/ vowel cluster is then shortened, after lenition of the unstressed second /e/, and the pronunciation changes to [pøt].
PEUT [pøt] > PEUT [pø]: The final consonant /t/ is not pronounced in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.
LINE > lign > ligne [liɲ] English: ([blood] line)
LINE > LIGNE [liɲ]: The problematic cluster of /n + front vowel e/ causes a new sound in the word. The sound is represented with “gn” /ɲ/.
LIGNE [line] > LIGNE [linə]: The high mid front vowel /e/ becomes a mid-central /ə/ in the Old French.
LIGNE [linə] > LIGNE [lin]: The pronunciation of the final mid central vowel /ə/ is dropped in Modern French, but the grapheme remains.