Etymologically
Log in

cadeau

Etymology and origin of the French word cadeau

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1416
Borrowed from
Occitan capdel
Ultimate origin
Latin (caput)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.do/[1]

Forms

cadeau m (plural cadeaux)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old Occitan capdel (“chief, captain; capital letter”), from Latin capitellum (“small head; top”) (which gave chapiteau), the diminutive of caput (“head”) (see chef).[2][3][4][1][5] Rey and Bloch and Wartburg suppose that the Occitan word already meant a large ornamental initial at the head of a paragraph, often with a figure's head.[2][3] It is a doublet of cadet and of “chapiteau”.[1] Littré's derivation from Latin “catellus” “little chain”, after the linked pen strokes, is not followed by modern dictionaries.[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1416 a cadeau is an ornate capital letter in a manuscript.[2][7][4]

Semantic evolution

In 1532 it named the flourishes with which writing masters decorated pages, and in 1680 the pen strokes they drew around their models; in 1690 Furetière records the shapes traced idly in ashes or sand and, figuratively, needless ornaments of speech.[2][3] From the refinement of these initials, classical French used cadeau for a gallant entertainment offered to a lady, with music and a banquet (1656, Molière 1659), already dated for Furetière in 1690.[2][4][7] Ménage noted that faire des cadeaux meant to do showy but useless things.[6][2] The modern sense “present” is dated 1669 (cadeau nuptial) by Rey and the Grand Robert, but 1787 by Bloch and Wartburg.[2][4][3]

Petit cadeau is a prostitute's extra fee (1829), ne pas faire de cadeaux à qqn to be tough with someone (about 1930), and c'est pas un cadeau is ironic (Céline, 1936).[2] In African French it is a free extra given by a trader.[2]

Timeline

  • 1416 – An ornate capital letter.[2]
  • 1532 – Calligraphic flourishes.[2]
  • 1656 – An entertainment offered to a lady.[2]
  • 1669 – A present, cadeau nuptial.[2]
  • 1829 – Petit cadeau.[2]
  • c. 1930 – Ne pas faire de cadeaux.[2]
  • 1936 – C'est un joli cadeau, ironically, Céline.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A present, gift: faire un cadeau à qqn, cadeau d'anniversaire, faire cadeau de qqch..[1][7]
  2. (familiar) Ne pas faire de cadeaux: to show no mercy, c'est pas un cadeau, he/it is a real pain.[2][7]
  3. (advertising, in apposition) Free: paquet cadeau, gift-wrapping.[2]
  4. (obsolete) An ornate capital letter; a calligraphic flourish.[7][2]
  5. (classical) An entertainment offered to a lady.[7][4]

Usage notes

The proverb les petits cadeaux entretiennent l'amitié means “small gifts keep friendship alive”.[4]

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 n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 258b
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cadeau.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cadeau. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·