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école

Etymology and origin of the French word école

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (escole)
Borrowed from
Latin schola
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (σχολή)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek σχολή
Latin schola
English school
French école

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.kɔl/[1]

Forms

école f (plural écoles)[1] Old French escole;[2] école from 1636.[3][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin schola (“leisure for study; lesson; school”),[2][4][5][3][6] from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “leisure; study”).[2][4][1] The Greek word meant leisure, then the study done at leisure (Plato), and in Hellenistic Greek a philosophical school;[4][7] in Late Latin schola also meant a guild or company.[2][4] Schola displaced Latin lūdus “elementary school”, which left no trace in that sense in Romance.[4][8] The form escole shows a word that kept in touch with written Latin, a semi-learned borrowing.[4][8][1]

Compare Italian scuola and Spanish escuela; German Schule and English school were borrowed from Latin.[8][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) tells how the good father put the child to school, “ad escole li bons pedre le mist”.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

From the place of teaching the word spread to the pupils of a master and those who follow his teaching (Jeu d'Adam, 1146–1174),[2][3] and so to a school of thought or art: l'École was scholastic philosophy (Descartes, 1636), and painters are grouped by école (l'école flamande).[3][7] Être à bonne école meant to have a good source of instruction.[2]

Faire l'école buissonnière “to play truant” is recorded by Cotgrave (1611).[3] In riding it is the training of the horse (1755),[2] and in backgammon an école was a point forgotten by one's opponent, whence faire une école “to make a blunder”.[8][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Escole (Alexis).[2][5]
  • 1146–1174 – The followers of a master.[2]
  • c. 1265 – A school of thought (Jean de Meun).[3]
  • 1611 – École buissonnière (Cotgrave).[3]
  • 1636 – The spelling école.[3]
  • 1755 – Riding school, training (Encyclopédie).[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A school; especially a primary school.[7][1]
  2. The pupils and staff of a school; schooling: aller à l'école.[7][3]
  3. A specialised college: école d'ingénieurs, grande école.[7][3]
  4. A school of thought or art; the followers of a master.[7][3]
  5. (figurative) Something that teaches: à bonne école.[2][7]

Word family

  • écolier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 299b
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“École.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9cole. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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