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carrer

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Etymology and origin of the French word carrer

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1180–1200 Aliscans More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin quadro via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin quadrus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quattuor
Catalan quatre
Italian quattro
Romanian patru
Spanish cuatro
Latin quadrus
Italian quadro
French cadre
English cadre
Romanian cadru
Latin quadrum
Spanish cuadro
Latin quadrō
French carrer
Spanish cuadrar
Italian quadrare
From the same root
Latin quadrivium ← quattuor
Latin quater ← quattuor
Latin quattuordecim ← quattuor
Romanian pătrare ← patru
Romanian pătrat ← patru
Latin quadra ← quadrus
Latin quadrāria ← quadrus
Latin quadrellus ← quadrus
Italian quadrello ← quadro
Spanish cuadrilla ← quadrum
Latin quadrāns ← quadrō
Latin quadrātūra ← quadrō
Latin quadrātus ← quadrō

Pronunciation

Forms

carrer[1] Old French quarrer (12th century); Nicot still wrote se quarer in 1606, and the form carrer is recorded in 1504.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French quarrer, inherited from Latin quadrō (“to make square”).[3][4][5][2] The Latin verb also meant “to complete” and “to fit, be exact”, and is derived from quadrus (“square”).[4] The sense of the reflexive verb, “to strut”, developed under the influence of carrure “breadth of the shoulders”.[5][4][2] The doublet cadrer “to fit” comes from the same Latin verb.[6][2]

Cognate with Italian quadrare, Old Occitan cairar, Catalan quadrar and Spanish cuadrar.[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Aliscans (1180–1200), has the sense “to give a square section to”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb partly followed carré: it entered mathematics with the sense “to square a number” (1549, Peletier) and “to find a square equal in area to a surface”.[3][4][8] The reflexive se carrer (1606, Nicot) meant “to put on an air of importance and self-satisfaction”, and se carrer dans (1831, Balzac) “to settle oneself comfortably in”, literally and figuratively;[3][4] se carrer dans un fauteuil is found in Mérimée in 1833.[3][4] At the card game bouillotte, se carrer (1803) was to raise the stake before seeing one's cards.[3]

In slang carrer meant “to hide” (1835), se carrer “to hide oneself” (1844) and then “to run away” (1866), probably from the noun carre “hiding place”.[3][4] From 1906 slang took up the verb again for “to put, stuff”, as in vulgar phrases such as tu peux te le carrer followed by a part of the body.[4]

Timeline

  • 1180–1200 – First record in Aliscans, “to give a square section”.[3][4]
  • 1504 – The form carrer appears in Jean Bouchet.[3]
  • 1549 – Peletier uses it for squaring a number.[3][4]
  • 1606 – Nicot records se quarer “to strut, look self-important”.[3][8]
  • 1765 – The Encyclopédie has quarrer in arithmetic.[3][9]
  • 1803 – Se carrer at bouillotte.[3]
  • 1831 – Balzac uses se carrer dans “to settle comfortably in”.[3][4]
  • 1835 – Slang carrer “to hide”.[3][4]
  • 1866 – Se carrer “to run away” in Delvau.[3][4]
  • 1906 – Slang carrer “to put, stuff”.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive, technical) To make square, to cut at right angles: carrer un bloc de granit.[2][10][7]
  2. (mathematics) To find a square equal in area to a curved surface; to raise a number to its square.[2][3][7]
  3. (reflexive, dated) Se carrer: to put on an air of importance and self-satisfaction.[2][7]
  4. (reflexive) Se carrer dans un fauteuil: to settle comfortably into an armchair; also figurative.[2][10]
  5. (reflexive, card games) At bouillotte, to double the stake to secure priority.[3][7]
  6. (slang) To hide;[3] se carrer: to hide oneself, to run away.[3]

Word family

  • carrure
  • contrecarrer

Usage notes

In colloquial southern French carrer also means “to put, to stick”;[1] Wiktionary treats it as a separate borrowing from carrar, itself from Latin quadrō.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Carrer.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/carrer. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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