Etymologically
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bivouac

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 17:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bi.vwak/[1]

Forms

bivouac m (plural bivouacs)[1] Bivoie (1650), bivac and biwacht (Ménage); bivouac from 1690.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a Germanic word, probably brought by mercenaries serving in French armies in the 17th century.[2] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert, the GLLF and the Académie give it as borrowed from Alemannic German Biwacht (“extra night patrol”), a patrol of citizens that reinforced the town watch in Aargau and Zürich;[4][5][6][7][2][1] Bloch and Wartburg prefer Dutch bijwacht (“auxiliary guard”) (1651), as opposed to the main guard, and say the German and Swiss words are not attested;[3][2][8] Rey also mentions Middle Low German biwacht.[2] In each, the first part is the preposition “by, beside” and the second is “watch, guard”, as in German Wacht.[2][6]

From French come Italian bivacco, English bivouac and German Biwak.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first meant a night watch kept in the open air by troops, as Ménage records it in 1650.[3][6][5]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, a temporary camp in the open, especially of troops for the night, dates from 1793, the year of the verb bivouaquer.[3] In the 19th century it was extended to mountaineers', explorers' and travellers' night camps;[5][9] the Swiss Alpine Club's yearbook speaks of setting up “notre bivouac” at the foot of a rock wall in 1869.[9] It also names the place where such a camp is set up.[6][5]

Timeline

  • 1650 – Bivoie “night watch” in Ménage.[2][3]
  • 1690 – The form bivouac.[2][4]
  • 1793 – A camp in the open, and the verb bivouaquer.[3]
  • 1869 – A mountaineers' camp.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A temporary encampment in the open air, especially of troops; a bivouac.[5][6]
  2. A night camp set up in the mountains or the wild.[5][9]
  3. The place where such a camp is set up.[6][5]
  4. (obsolete) A night watch kept in the open.[5][10]

Word family

  • bivouaquer

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 108a
  9. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ 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