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caca

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Etymology and origin of the French word caca

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Reduplication
First attested
c. 1534 Bonaventure des Périers More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Latin cacō

Pronunciation

Forms

caca m or (Louisiana) f (plural cacas)[1]

Etymology

It is a nursery word of expressive formation, related to Latin cacō (“to defecate”), the source of chier.[2][3][4][1] The Petit Robert sees a reduplication of the first syllable of the Latin verb, as in dodo and joujou.[5] Bloch and Wartburg think the nursery word goes back to Latin times.[4] Rey connects the Latin verb with a popular Indo-European word seen in Ancient Greek κακκάω (kakkáō), Russian какать (kakatʹ), German kacken and Welsh cach.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Bonaventure des Périers (about 1534), in children's language, for excrement.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

By extension it meant dirt or filth (1690, Furetière).[2][6] Used in a mock-childish way in place of merde, it later took the senses “something worthless” and “a nasty situation”: Zola wrote être dans le caca in 1902.[6] The colour caca d'oie “dirty yellow” is recorded in 1867, in the Goncourts' journal;[2][6] in 1781 the birth of the Dauphin had made an orange-yellow caca dauphin fashionable.[6] Recent playful forms such as caca boudin are taken from children's speech, and faire un caca nerveux “to throw a fit” seems to date from the 1990s.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1534 – Bonaventure des Périers uses caca for excrement.[2][4]
  • 1690 – Furetière records the sense “dirt, filth”.[2]
  • 1781 – The colour caca dauphin is in fashion.[6]
  • 1867 – Caca d'oie in the Goncourts' journal.[2]
  • 1902 – Zola writes être dans le caca.[6]
  • 1990s – Faire un caca nerveux appears.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (familiar, children's language) Poo, excrement: faire caca.[5][7]
  2. (familiar) Dirt, filth: être dans le caca “to be in a mess”.[5][7]
  3. Caca d'oie: a dirty yellowish-green colour.[5][7]
  4. Faire un caca nerveux: to throw a tantrum.[5][6]

Adjective

  1. (children's language) Very dirty, yucky.[6][1]

Word family

  • caca boudin
  • caca d'oie

Usage notes

In Louisiana French the word can be feminine.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Caca.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/caca. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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