The word voyeur is a direct borrowing from French, entering English in the early 20th century. It is formed from the French verb voir (to see), with its stem voy-, combined with the agent suffix -eur. This construction literally means "one who sees". The core Latin root is vidēre, "to see", which is also the source of English words like "video" and "evident". The term's specific application to secretive, obsessive, or illicit watching developed from its clinical and literary usage in French, shifting from a literal "seer" to one whose seeing is furtive and driven by a particular kind of pleasure or curiosity.

Structure: voy (see) + eur (agent suffix) - voy: From French, meaning "to see". Ultimately from Latin vidēre, "to see". - eur: A French agent noun suffix, equivalent to English "-er", indicating a person who performs an action.