Etymologically
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acide

Etymology and origin of the French word acide

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1545, Guéroult
Borrowed from
Latin acidus
Ultimate origin
Latin (aceō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin acidus
French acide
English acid

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.sid/[1]

Forms

acide (plural acides)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin acidus (“sour”),[2][3][4][5] from aceō (“to be sour”),[1][3] related to ācer (“sharp”), from an Indo-European root “*ak-” “point”, also found in acētum (“vinegar”) and acus (“needle”).[3] The noun was taken from Medieval Latin, where “acida” was a term of alchemy (9th century).[2]

The same Latin family gave the inherited aigre and the learned âcre and acerbe; oseille is from “acidula”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume Guéroult's Histoire des plantes (1545) has Ce fruict rude, acide ou mal plaisant au goust, of a sour-tasting fruit;[2][4] acidité appears in the same year.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Furetière (1690) records it in chemistry, as an adjective and as a noun: a sharp salt opposed to alkali.[2] The modern concept, the acid as opposed to the base, came with Lavoisier and Guyton de Morveau at the end of the 18th century, and was redefined by the atomic and ionic theories.[3] Derivatives such as acidifier (1786), acidulé (1721) and acidose (1909) followed.[3]

The figurative sense, “sharp, cutting”, is from the 19th century, first in Hugo (1842: une musique des plus acides).[2][3] It is also said of vivid colours (un vert acide).[6][7] About 1965 the noun took the sense “LSD” from American English acid.[3]

Timeline

  • 1545 – Acide and acidité in Guéroult.[2][4]
  • 1690 – A chemical term, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1721 – Acidulé.[3]
  • 1786 – Acidifier.[3]
  • 1842 – Figurative use in Hugo.[2]
  • c. 1965 – “LSD”, after American English.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Sour, sharp-tasting: un fruit acide.[8][1]
  2. (figurative) Cutting, caustic: des propos acides.[8][7]
  3. Of a colour, harsh, vivid: un vert acide.[7][6]
  4. (chemistry) Acidic: solution acide, pluies acides.[8][1]

Noun

  1. (chemistry) An acid: acide sulfurique, acide aminé.[7][1]
  2. (slang) Acid, LSD.[7][1]

Word family

  • acidité
  • acidifier
  • acidulé
  • acidose
  • antiacide

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 107b
  6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Acide.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/acide. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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