Etymologically
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bain

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɛ̃/[1]

Forms

bain m (plural bains)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *baneum, an altered form of classical Latin balneum (“bathing; bath, (plural) public baths”), also “balineum”, borrowed from Ancient Greek βαλανεῖον (balaneîon, “bathhouse”).[2][3][4][1][5] The Greek word, usual in prose, is formed from βαλανεύς (balaneús, “bath attendant”), an Attic word with no Indo-European match; it may be a loan from an Aegean language, or be connected with βάλανος (bálanos, “acorn; peg”), the peg that stopped the hole of a bathtub.[2] In modern French “bain” is felt as an irregular noun from baigner, although that verb comes from a Latin derivative of “balneum”.[2]

Cognate with Italian bagno, Occitan banh, Catalan bany, Spanish baño and Portuguese banho.[6][7] bagne is a doublet, from Italian.[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1080) bains in the plural are a bathing place: the baths of Aix that God made for Charlemagne, vos bains que pour vous Deus i fist.[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Bains long named the room of a house or palace for bathing, until salle de bains replaced it, and, from the late 11th century a public bathhouse; later also a spa or seaside resort (1680).[2] The singular bain is the act of bathing and the water one bathes in from about 1155, and the tub itself from 1525.[2]

Furetière (1690) records the technical sense of a liquid in which something is dipped or heated, already present in bain-marie (14th century), a term of alchemy that probably refers to Mary the Jewess, sister of Moses, to whom alchemical works were attributed.[2][3] Bain de soleil dates from 1860.[2][6] In African French bain is also a wash with splashed water, and in Maghreb French bains-douches means a hammam.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1080 – Bains, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1155 – The act of bathing; the water.[2]
  • 14th century – Baing-marie in an alchemical text.[7][3]
  • 1525 – The bathtub.[2]
  • 1680 – A spa; a bathing place.[2]
  • 1690 – A liquid for dipping, Furetière.[2]
  • 1860 – Bain de soleil.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bath: dipping the body or part of it in water or another liquid, to wash or heal: prendre un bain, bain de pieds, salle de bains.[6][1]
  2. The bath water: faire couler un bain.[6]
  3. A swim, a dip: bain de mer; the pool of a swimming bath: le grand bain.[6]
  4. Bain de soleil: sunbathing.[6]
  5. (figurative) An immersion: bain de foule, être dans le bain, to be involved in something.[6][4]
  6. (familiar) Envoyer qqn au bain: to send someone packing.[6][4]
  7. (plural) Public baths; a spa.[2]
  8. (technical) A liquid in which something is dipped: photographic or chemical bath.[2]

Word family

  • bain-marie
  • baigner
  • baignoire
  • bagne
  • balnéaire
  • Latin balneum

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 m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  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 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. 1, 225b
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert