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barbeau

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Etymology and origin of the French word barbeau

barbeau1 barbel

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1178
Inherited from
Latin *barbellus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin barba

Pronunciation

Forms

barbeau m (plural barbeaux)[1] Old French barbel, plural barbiaus;[2][3] barbeau from 1549.[2][3]

Etymology

The word for the fish is inherited from Old French barbel, inherited from Vulgar Latin *barbellus.[1][2][4][5] This is barbulus, recorded in the glosses, with another suffix, a diminutive of Latin barbus (“barbel”), from barba (“beard”), after the barbels around the fish's mouth.[2][4][6][7] The Old French suffix was replaced by -eau in 1549.[2] The Grand Robert and Rey see an influence of barboter or barbot.[5][2]

Cognate with Old Occitan barbel; the simple Latin noun survives in Italian barbo and Spanish barbo.[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural barbiaus is first found about 1178, naming the freshwater fish.[2][5] The GLLF and the Petit Robert date it to 1175, in Chrétien de Troyes.[6][9]

Semantic evolution

The word has named the barbel, a carp-like river fish with barbels on its jaw, since Old French; the Livre des métiers lists barbeaus among the fish the king's fishermen could not take.[2][3] In Acadian French it names another small fish of shallow water, used as bait, from 1672.[2]

From 1865 or 1866 barbeau was slang for a pimp, after maquereau, which is both a fish and a pimp.[2][6][9] This sense gave the clipped slang barbe and barbiquet “young pimp” (1952).[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1178 – The plural barbiaus is first recorded.[2][5]
  • 1300 – The derivative barbillon “young barbel” appears.[2]
  • 1549 – The form barbeau replaces barbel.[2]
  • 1672 – Acadian French uses it for a small bait fish.[2]
  • 1865 – First record of the slang sense “pimp”.[6][9]
  • 1952 – Slang barbiquet “young pimp”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The barbel, a freshwater fish of the carp family with barbels around its mouth.[9][10]
  2. (familiar, dated) A pimp.[9][6]

Word family

  • barbillon

barbeau2 cornflower

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1642 Oudin
Ultimate origin
Latin barba
Etymology tree of barbeau2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin barba
Catalan barba
French barbe
English barb
French barbeau
Italian barba
Romanian barbă
Spanish barba
From the same root · barbeau2
Latin barbātus ← barba
Latin barbula ← barba
Latin barbus ← barba
French barbier ← barbe
Italian barbabietola ← barba
Romanian bărbie ← barbă

Pronunciation

Forms

barbeau m (plural barbeaux)[1]

Etymology

The word for the flower is from French barbe + -eau.[11][5][9] It was named for the bristly fringes of the flower.[6][3][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1642, in Oudin's Italian–French dictionary, as the name of a flower.[11][6]

Semantic evolution

It is a popular name of the cornflower, the blue flower of the cornfields also called bleuet.[11][6][9] As an invariable adjective, bleu barbeau names its colour, a light or bright blue.[11][6][9]

Timeline

  • 1642 – Oudin records barbeau as a flower name.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The cornflower, also called bleuet.[11][9]

Adjective

  1. Bleu barbeau (invariable): a light or bright blue: une robe bleu barbeau.[11][6][9]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 250b
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  12. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Barbeau.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/barbeau. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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