Etymologically
Log in

céleri

Etymology and origin of the French word céleri

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1419, scellerin
Borrowed from
Lombard seleri
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (σέλινον)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French céleri
English celery

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sel.ʁi/[1]
  • IPA: /sɛl.ʁi/[1]

Forms

céleri m (plural céleris)[1] Scellerin (1419), scelereau (15th century), celeris, seleris (1651), sceleri (1656).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Lombard seleri, a plural corresponding to Tuscan Italian sedano,[2][3][4][1][5] from Late Latin selinon (“parsley; celery”), from Ancient Greek σέλινον (sélinon, “a kind of wild celery”).[2][3][4][1] It is not known whether the Greek word is native or borrowed; it gave the Sicilian place name Selinous (Selinunte).[3]

Littré traces the word through popular Italian “sellaro” and Brescian “seleno”, and notes that it passed from France into the north: German Sellerie, Dutch selderij.[6] Southern French dialects instead say “api”, from Latin apium, the source of ache.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Scellerin is recorded in 1419,[2][3] and the medieval cookery book Le Viandier has paon au scelereau, peacock with celery.[2]

Semantic evolution

The plant was grown for two uses: the leaf stalks (céleri en branches, céleri à côtes) and the root (céleri-rave, from 1782).[3][2] By metonymy céleri is also the edible part, as in céleri rémoulade.[3][7]

Despite the accent, it is usually pronounced /sɛlʁi/, and the Petit Robert and the Académie prefer the spelling cèleri.[2][7][8]

Timeline

  • 1419 – Scellerin.[2][3]
  • 15th century – Scelereau in Le Viandier.[2][4]
  • 1651 – Celeris in La Varenne's Cuisinier françois.[2][9]
  • 1656 – Sceleri d'Italie.[2]
  • 1694 – First recorded by the Académie.[2]
  • 1782 – Céleri-rave.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Celery, the garden plant Apium graveolens grown for its stalks or its root (céleri-rave, celeriac).[7][8]
  2. The edible stalks or root: céleri rémoulade.[7]

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 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 d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 416a
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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 Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Céleri.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/c%C3%A9leri. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·