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chapon

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Etymology and origin of the French word chapon

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1150 before 1150, Lapidaire de Marbode More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin *cappo via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin cāpō

Pronunciation

Forms

chapon m (plural chapons, feminine chaponne)[1] Old French chiapun (an isolated spelling), chapon;[2][3][4] Picard capon.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chapon, inherited from Vulgar Latin *cappō (“capon”), a variant with an expressive double consonant of Latin cāpō (“capon”) (from Martial on);[2][3][5][6] the form cāpus is found a little earlier, in Varro.[2] The Latin word probably goes back to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *(s)kap- (“to cut”), also seen in Ancient Greek κόπτω (kóptō, “to strike, cut”).[2][3]

Cognate with Italian cappone, Occitan capon, Catalan capó, Spanish capón and Portuguese capão.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The isolated spelling chiapun appears before 1150 in the Lapidary of Marbode, for a castrated cockerel;[2][3] chapon is in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au Lion (about 1175).[2]

Semantic evolution

By likeness the word named a young vine shoot that bears no grapes yet (1425), first in French-speaking Switzerland and the Lyonnais, then in Burgundy (1611).[2][3] It also came to mean a piece of bread soaked in fat broth and served on a lean soup (1690) and a crust rubbed with garlic, put in a salad (1787), either ironically, as the poor man's capon, or by association with chapeler “to pare the crust”.[2][3] The regional use in Provence for the red scorpionfish is borrowed from Provençal capon.[3]

The verb chaponner “to caponize” dates from the 13th century.[3][5]

Timeline

  • before 1150 – Chiapun in the Lapidary of Marbode.[2]
  • c. 1175 – Chapon in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au Lion.[2]
  • 1363 – The diminutive chaponneau is recorded.[2][5]
  • 1425 – Choupon “young vine shoot” at Lutry, Vaud.[2]
  • 1690 – Furetière records the sense “bread soaked in broth”.[2]
  • 1787 – Féraud records the garlic crust put in a salad.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A capon, a castrated young cock fattened for the table: chapon de Bresse.[7][2]
  2. (regional, South-West) A piece of bread soaked in broth or rubbed with garlic.[7][4]
  3. (viticulture) A young vine shoot that bears no grapes yet.[8][3]
  4. (regional, Provence) The red scorpionfish.[1][3]

Word family

  • chaponner
  • chaponnière
  • chaponneau

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 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 h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c 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. 2, 267a
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Chapon.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/chapon. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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