Etymologically
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cahute

Etymology and origin of the French word cahute

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Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Compound
First attested
13th century, Ernoul Caupain
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French cahute
English cahoots

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.yt/[1]

Forms

cahute f (plural cahutes)[1] Old French chahute, chaüte (13th century), Middle French quahute; the Académie had cahuette in 1694 and 1798, cahutte in the reformed spelling.[2][3][4]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[3][1] It is either a crossing of hutte with words such as cabane and caverne,[2][3][5][6] or “hutte” with a pejorative prefix ca-.[2][3][7] Wiktionary discusses whether Middle Dutch kayhute (modern Dutch kajuit (“cabin”)) is from French or the reverse, and favours a French origin;[1] French cajute is a borrowing back from Dutch.[1]

Littré thought “hutte” doubtful, the forms “cahuette” and “quahute” suggesting a primitive “cahue”, and called the origin unknown.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ernoul Caupain's 13th-century pastourelle has De joins et de feuchiere estoit coverte sa chahute “her hut was roofed with rushes and fern”, in a Picard manuscript where ⟨c⟩, ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨k⟩ are used interchangeably.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

A remission letter of 1391 has quahute for an old house,[2][8] and Calvin (16th century) uses cahuettes of the tents of Abraham.[8][2] The word has always named a poor shelter or wretched dwelling;[3][9] like bicoque it was used familiarly for “house” (Flaubert, 1850).[3]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Chahute in Ernoul Caupain.[2]
  • 1391 – Quahute in a remission letter.[2]
  • 16th century – Cahute in Calvin.[2]
  • 1694 – Cahuette in the Académie.[2]
  • 1718 – Cahute in the Académie.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A hovel, shack or rough hut.[9][10]
  2. (familiar, dated) A house.[3]

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 277a
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Cahute.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cahute. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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