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brumer

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Etymology and origin of the French word brumer

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1863 Littré More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origins
Occitan brumaFrench -er
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French brume
French brumer

Pronunciation

Forms

brumer[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French brume + -er.[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg take the noun from Old Occitan bruma, the regular outcome of Latin brūma (“winter solstice; winter”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Littré records it in 1863 as a sailors' term: il brume, the weather is more or less hazy with mist.[4][3][7] The TLFi's first record is the Grand dictionnaire universel of Larousse, in 1867.[2]

Semantic evolution

Brume itself gave no lasting derivatives before the 18th century, when the noun became common.[8] The verb began as a nautical term and was recorded as an impersonal verb, il brume, by the Académie in 1932.[4][2] Writers have also used it personally and figuratively: Proust has ennui that “mists” in a German park (1896), and Sartre a hand that would give off smoke like mist (1945).[2]

Timeline

  • 1863 – Littré records il brume as a sailors' term.[3][7][4]
  • 1867 – Recorded by Larousse.[2]
  • 1896 – Proust uses it figuratively in Les Plaisirs et les jours.[2]
  • 1932 – The Académie records il brume.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (impersonal) To be misty or foggy: ce matin, il brumait sur le port.[2][1][5]
  2. (nautical) Of the weather at sea, to be more or less thick with brume.[4]
  3. (literary) To give off mist, or to spread like mist.[2]
  • brume
  • brumeux
  • embrumer
  • brumasser

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Brumer.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/brumer. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·