Etymologically
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automobile

Etymology and origin of the French word automobile

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1861, Annales des ponts et chaussées
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French automobile
English automobile
English auto

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /o.tɔ.mɔ.bil/[1]
  • IPA: /ɔ.tɔ.mɔ.bil/[1]

Forms

automobile (plural automobiles)[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of auto- (“self”) and mobile (“moving”) (from Latin mōbilis), formed on the model of locomobile, beside the older automoteur.[2][3][4][1][5] Littré calls it a hybrid word, from Greek Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) and “mobile”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record (1861, Annales des ponts et chaussées) is an adjective for river gates that move by themselves under the weight of the water[7][2][6]; Pierre Larousse's dictionary (1866) and Littré still give only this sense of “self-moving”.[7][2][6]

Semantic evolution

With engines fitted to road vehicles, voiture automobile (1876) launched the word, and the adjective was soon used of the new industry and sport (1895, industrie automobile).[2] As a noun, une automobile dates from about 1890–1896; it was sometimes masculine until about 1920.[7][8][2] The clipped un auto (1896), then une auto, became usual around 1900, and automobile itself became a technical or formal word beside auto and voiture.[2] The adjective hippomobile (1897) was formed after it.[2]

Timeline

  • 1861 – Adjective, “moving by itself”, of river gates.[7][3]
  • 1866 – Recorded in Larousse's dictionary.[2][4]
  • 1876 – Voiture automobile.[2]
  • c. 1890–1896 – Une automobile, a motor car.[7][8]
  • 1896 – Un auto.[2]
  • 1897 – Hippomobile.[2]
  • c. 1920 – Un automobile goes out of use.[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (formal, technical) A motor car, an automobile.[8][1]
  2. The motor industry or motor sport.[4]

Adjective

  1. Self-propelled: canot automobile, a motorboat.[8][9]
  2. Of cars and motoring: l'industrie automobile, coureur automobile.[9][8]

Word family

  • auto

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 4a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Automobile.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/automobile. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·