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écumoire

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Etymology and origin of the French word écumoire

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1333 Delboulle's collection (escumoir) More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
French écumer,-oire

Pronunciation

  • /e.ky.mwaʁ/[1]

Forms

écumoire f (plural écumoires)[1] Middle French escumoir (masculine, 1333) and escumoire (feminine, 1372).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French écumer (“to skim”) + -oire.[2][3][1] The verb is from écume “foam, scum”,[5] which Bloch and Wartburg trace to Proto-West Germanic *skūm, crossed with Latin spūma.[5] Littré compares Walloon houmerèse.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The masculine escumoir is recorded in 1333 and the feminine escumoire in 1372, in an inventory of the kitchen vessels of Queen Jeanne d'Évreux; both name the skimming utensil.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The 1372 feminine is an isolated record, and the word is not found again until Cotgrave's dictionary of 1611;[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg date écumoire to 1552.[5] The GLLF gives a 15th-century record from Godefroy.[7]

From the round, holed spoon came the 19th-century simile comme une écumoire, en écumoire “riddled with holes”, used of faces scarred by smallpox and of things pierced by bullets, and the familiar avoir une mémoire comme une écumoire.[4][6][2] Littré also records technical uses for a holed metal plate in rope-making and a founder's ladle for skimming dross.[6]

Timeline

  • 1333 – Escumoir (masculine) is recorded.[2][4]
  • 1372 – Escumoire (feminine) appears in the inventory of Jeanne d'Évreux's kitchen.[2][3]
  • 1552 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for écumoire.[5]
  • 1611 – Cotgrave records the word.[2]
  • 19th century – Comme une écumoire “riddled with holes” appears.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A skimmer: a flat, perforated spoon on a handle, used to skim off scum or to lift food out of a liquid.[8][2][1]
  2. (familiar) Comme une écumoire, en écumoire: riddled with holes: sa voiture était trouée comme une écumoire.[4][8]
  3. (familiar) Avoir une mémoire comme une écumoire: to have a very poor memory.[4]
  4. (technical) A founder's ladle for removing dross from molten metal.[6]

Usage notes

In some regions of France écumette is used for écumoire.[4] Passoire is a near synonym in the figurative phrases.[8][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Écumoire.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9cumoire. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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