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carrière

Etymology and origin of the French word carrière

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French has two words spelled carrière: the stone quarry, inherited from Latin, and the career, a 16th-century borrowing that first meant a racecourse.[1][2][3]

carrière1 quarry

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1170, quarriere
Inherited from
Latin *quadraria via Old French
Ultimate origin
Late Latin (quadrus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.ʁjɛʁ/[4]
  • IPA: /kɑ.ʁjɛʁ/[4]

Forms

carrière f (plural carrières)[4]

Etymology

The quarry is inherited from Old French quarriere, inherited from Vulgar Latin *quadrāria (“place where stone is cut”) (attested in Medieval Latin in 823),[5][2][4][6] from Late Latin quadrus (“square”), understood as “quadrus lapis” “squared stone, ashlar”.[5][7] The sense “squared stone” is not found in French but survives in Old Occitan cayre.[8][5] Littré rejected a Celtic origin in favour of the Latin.[9] Compare English quarry.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as quarriere about 1170.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word soon lost its link with squared stone and named any place from which building stone is extracted;[5] it is now applied to any open-pit working, as opposed to a mine.[5][1] The derivative carrier “quarryman” dates from 1235.[8]

Timeline

  • 823 – Medieval Latin quadraria.[5]
  • c. 1170 – Quarriere.[2]
  • 1235 – Carrier “quarryman”.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A quarry, a place from which stone or earth is extracted: carrière de marbre.[1][2]
  2. An open-pit working, as opposed to a mine.[7][1]

Word family

  • carrier

carrière2 career

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1534, Rabelais
Borrowed from
Italian carriera
Ultimate origin
Latin (carrus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.ʁjɛʁ/[4]
  • IPA: /kɑ.ʁjɛʁ/[4]

Forms

carrière f (plural carrières)[4]

Etymology

The career word is probably borrowed from Italian carriera (“road for carts; swift run of a horse”),[3][5][10] itself probably from Old Occitan carriera, since the suffix is not native to Italian;[3][5] Bloch and Wartburg and the FEW take it straight from Old Occitan carreira (“road”).[3][11] The Occitan word, like Old French charriere and Old Picard “carriere” “cart track”, is from Vulgar Latin *carrāria, short for “via carraria” “road for carts”, from carrus (“wagon”).[3][5] The inherited doublet is charrière.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rabelais (1534) has donner cent quarrieres “to run a horse about in all directions”, and Herberay des Essarts (1524–1540) carriere for the ground where horses are run.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

From riding came donner carrière à un cheval “to give a horse its head” (Amyot), and figuratively donner libre carrière à “to give free rein to” (1611).[3][5] The word was used of the course of the stars (1557), of any course or race, and of the span of life (d'Aubigné).[3][5] Pomey (1671) has the path one takes in life, as in the Marseillaise’s Nous entrerons dans la carrière,[3][1] and Patru (before 1680) a profession with stages of advancement;[3] the Académie recorded the period during which one works in 1694.[3] La Carrière is also diplomacy.[5] Carriérisme (1908) seems to be French, while carriériste (1909) follows English careerist.[5]

Timeline

  • 1524–1540 – A riding ground, in Herberay des Essarts.[3]
  • 1534 – Donner cent quarrieres in Rabelais.[3]
  • 1557 – The course of the stars.[3]
  • 1611 – Donner carrière “to give free rein”.[5]
  • Before 1680 – A profession, in Patru.[3]
  • 1694 – The working life, in the Académie.[3]
  • 1908 – Carriérisme.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A career: a profession with stages of advancement; a working life: faire carrière.[1][7]
  2. La Carrière: the diplomatic service.[5]
  3. (riding) An arena where horses are trained.[7]
  4. (literary) Donner libre carrière à: to give free rein to.[1][12]
  5. (historical) A racecourse or lists.[1][11]

Word family

  • carriérisme
  • carriériste

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1400b
  7. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 414a
  11. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Carrière.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/carri%C3%A8re. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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