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aujourd'hui

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Etymology and origin of the French word aujourd'hui

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin (hodiē)

Pronunciation

  • /o.ʒuʁ.d‿ɥi/[1]
  • /o.ʒɔʁ.d‿ɥi/[1]
  • Louisiana: /o.ʒɔ(ɾ).d‿ɥɪ/[1]
  • Louisiana: /a.ʒɔ(ɾ).d‿ɥi/[1]

Forms

aujourd'hui[1]

Etymology

It is formed from au jour d'hui “on the day of today”, from au, jour, the preposition “de” and Old French hui (“today”), a strengthened form of “hui”.[2][3][1][4] “Hui” continues Latin hodiē (“today”), from hōc diē (“on this day”).[2][3][1] Since “hui” alone meant “the present day”, Littré points out that the phrase is already a pleonasm.[5]

Aujourd'hui“ gradually replaced ”hui“ (about 1180); it reached only some of the dialects, chiefly in the north-east and east, while ”hui“ lives on in Walloon, Franco-Provençal and the south, strengthened to ”ahui“ and ”ancui“; many dialects of the east, west and centre say ”anuit, properly “until night”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 12th century, Bloch and Wartburg date the compound to about 1180.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Besides “on this day”, the adverb came to mean “nowadays, at the present time”, in contrast with autrefois and demain; used as a noun, l'aujourd'hui is literary for the present day.[3] The doubled au jour d'aujourd'hui repeats the pleonasm once more, and c'est pour aujourd'hui ou pour demain ? expresses impatience.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1180 – Aujourd'hui.[6]
  • 12th century – First record.[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. today, on this day: il part aujourd'hui, aujourd'hui en huit, a week today.[3]
  2. Nowadays, at the present time.[3]

Noun

  1. (literary) The present day; the present.[3]

Usage notes

Jusqu'aujourd'hui and jusqu'à aujourd'hui are both used, au jour d'aujourd'hui is a deliberate or familiar pleonasm.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 448a
  5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
Cite this entry

“Aujourd'hui.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/aujourd'hui. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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