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busard

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Etymology and origin of the French word busard

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1174–1183 Jordan Fantosme, Chronique More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin buteo

Pronunciation

Forms

busard m (plural busards)[1] Old French busart, buisart;[2][3] Anglo-Norman bosard, bussard.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French busart, from Old French buison, buson with the suffix changed to -ard.[4][5][6][7] The Old French noun is from Latin būteō (“a kind of hawk”), the source also of buse1.[4][1][8]

Littré compares Occitan buzac and busart.[2] The English word buzzard (about 1300) was taken from Old French buisart.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is busart in Jordan Fantosme's chronicle (1174–1183), naming a bird of prey that comes down on the dead with the crows.[4][2] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary dates it to 1174–75 and glosses it as the common buzzard, also applied to other birds of the falcon family.[3]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages the busart was the type of the hawk not fit for falconry: the Roman de la Rose quotes a saying that one cannot make a sparrowhawk out of a busart, and Eustache Deschamps and Jean Marot use the same contrast.[2] It was also used as a surname in Anglo-Norman.[3] In modern French it names the harriers, diurnal raptors of the genus Circus with long wings and tail that hunt over marshes and open land.[4][10][6]

Timeline

  • 1174–1183 – Busart in Jordan Fantosme's chronicle.[4][5]
  • 13th century – The Roman de la Rose contrasts the busart with the sparrowhawk.[2]
  • c. 1300 – English buzzard is first recorded.[9]
  • 15th century – Eustache Deschamps uses the same image.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A harrier, a diurnal bird of prey of the genus Circus, brown or ash-grey, with long wings and a long tail, living near marshes: busard cendré, busard des marais, busard saint Martin.[10][4][6]

Usage notes

Littré has a second busard, of a separate origin, from buse2 “pipe”: a hollowed piece of wood or an assembly of planks carrying water.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 655a
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Busard.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/busard. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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