Etymologically
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épais

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.pɛ/[1]

Forms

épais (feminine épaisse, masculine plural épais, feminine plural épaisses)[1] Old French espes, still used in the 17th century, beside espeis, espois (about 1200); épes in Monet (1636), épais in Richelet (1680).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French espes, inherited from Latin spissus (“thick, dense, compact”).[2][3][5][1] The modern form comes from the variant espeis, espois, in a development like that of roide to raide.[2][3][5] That variant arose from a crossing of the older form with the noun espeisse (“thickness”), from Vulgar Latin *spissia, and the verb espeissier (“to thicken”), from *spissiō, classical spissō (“to thicken”).[2][3]

Cognate with Italian spesso, Spanish espeso and Old Occitan espes.[3][5][6] Littré gives Walloon spès.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first used as a noun: in the Chanson de Roland (1080) al plus espes is the thickest part of the battle.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The noun use survives in au plus épais de (the forest, the fight), but Old French une espesse “a crowd” (about 1155) and un espés “a thicket” (about 1225) have died out.[3] The adjective “dense, compact” is in Wace (about 1150, espesse pluie), whence the adverb in semer épais “to sow thickly” (1538); by about 1160 it was also said of a solid, a wall, measured in its third dimension.[2][3]

It was said of a gas or vapour from the 15th century and of a liquid lacking fluidity from the 14th or 16th century (bouillie épaisse).[3][2] In the 16th century it described a heavy, massive build (before 1564, Calvin), and Miège (1677) has un homme épais for a person lacking finesse, a use much more common in Canada, where épais means a dull, coarse, tiresome person.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1080 – Al plus espes “in the thick (of the fight)”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2][3]
  • c. 1150 – Espesse pluie “dense rain”, in Wace.[2]
  • c. 1160 – Mur espès, in the Roman d'Eneas.[2]
  • c. 1200 – The variant espeis, espois.[2][3]
  • 1377 – The noun épaisseur replaces Old French espoisse.[5]
  • 1538 – Semer épais.[3]
  • 1677 – Un homme épais, in Miège.[2]
  • 1680 – The spelling épais, in Richelet.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Thick, large in its third dimension (opposed to mince): un mur épais, une couche épaisse de deux centimètres.[7][1]
  2. Heavy, squat, massive in shape: des mains épaisses, il n'est pas épais, he is thin.[7][3]
  3. Dense, close-packed: un brouillard épais.[2][3]
  4. Of a liquid, thick, not runny: une bouillie épaisse.[3]
  5. (figurative) Dull, coarse, lacking finesse, (Quebec, informal) stupid.[3][1]

Adverb

  1. Thickly, densely: semer épais.[1][3]

Word family

  • épaisseur
  • épaississement
  • épaissir

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert