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brochure

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Etymology and origin of the French word brochure

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1377 Delboulle More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin broccus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French brochure
English brochure

Pronunciation

  • /bʁɔ.ʃyʁ/[1]

Forms

brochure f (plural brochures)[1] Middle French broukure (1377).[2]

Etymology

It is formed from French brocher + -ure.[3][1][2][4] The verb brocher is derived from broche (a spit or pointed tool), which goes back to Vulgar Latin brocca (“pointed thing”), the feminine of broccus (“prominent, projecting (of teeth)”) used as a noun.[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1377, as broukure, for the pattern woven into the ground of a brocaded fabric.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In bookbinding the word came to mean the stitching of a book's sheets, recorded by the Académie in 1694, a less common synonym of brochage.[6][2] By metonymy it named a stitched publication of a few pages from 1718, the sense that is now the common one.[6][2][7] Littré also records it for the trade of a book-stitcher.[4]

English borrowed it in 1748 as brochure, a stitched pamphlet.[8]

Timeline

  • 1377 – Broukure is recorded for a woven pattern.[2][6]
  • 1694 – The Académie records it for the stitching of books.[6]
  • 1718 – First used for a small stitched publication.[6][2]
  • 1748 – English borrows the word.[8]
  • 1803 – The derivative brochurier is recorded.[9]
  • 1858 – The derivative brochurette is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A booklet or pamphlet, a small printed work with stitched or stapled pages: une brochure publicitaire.[7][10]
  2. (technical) The stitching of a book's sheets, also called brochage.[7][3][4]
  3. (technical) The workshop where books are stitched.[10]
  4. (textiles) The pattern woven into a brocaded fabric.[7][3][1]

Word family

  • brochurette
  • brochurier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  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. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b 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
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Brochure.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/brochure. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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