Etymologically
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affreux

Etymology and origin of the French word affreux

History Permalink
Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1500
Ultimate origin
Gothic (*aifrs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.fʁø/[1]

Forms

affreux (feminine affreuse, masculine plural affreux, feminine plural affreuses)[1]

Etymology

It is from French affres + -eux, from the noun for terror, now used only in the plural.[1][2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg think the noun (1460) probably came from Old Occitan afre (“horror”), which, like the Tuscan dialect afro (“sour, harsh”), represents Gothic *aifrs (“terrible”), reconstructed from Old High German eivar.[3][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1500; before 1520 it describes a wild landscape, and the modern sense is recorded in 1539.[2][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In Ronsard affreuse means dishevelled, in disorder.[8] The word has covered every degree of horror and painful dread, from what causes fear and disgust (un crime affreux) to what is extremely ugly and, by exaggeration, merely very unpleasant (un temps affreux).[9][7] About 1960 un affreux named a white mercenary serving in an African army.[7][10]

Timeline

  • 1460 – The noun affre “terror”.[3]
  • c. 1500 – Affreux.[2][7]
  • Before 1520 – Of a wild landscape.[4]
  • 1539 – The modern sense.[4]
  • c. 1960 – Un affreux, a mercenary.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Frightful, horrible, causing terror and disgust: un crime affreux.[7][1]
  2. Extremely ugly, hideous: elle est affreuse avec cette coiffure.[7][1]
  3. Very unpleasant, awful: il fait un temps affreux.[7][1]
  4. Of a person, nasty: un affreux bonhomme.[7]

Noun

  1. (familiar) A nasty person, (1960s) a white mercenary in Africa.[7]

Word family

  • affreusement
  • affres

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 10a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
Cite this entry

“Affreux.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/affreux. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·