'hors' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'hors', where it ultimately comes from Latin 'foris' meaning 'outside'.

'hors' in Old French descended from Latin 'foris'; the Old French form 'hors' was adopted into modern French and then reused in English in fixed phrases such as 'hors d'oeuvre'.

Initially it meant 'outside' in Latin and Old French; in English use it has retained the core sense of 'outside' or 'apart from', often used in set phrases to mean 'except' or 'outside of'.