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chasse

Etymology and origin of the French word chasse

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1167–1170, Gautier d'Arras, Ille et Galeron
Ultimate origin
Latin (capto)

Pronunciation

Forms

chasse f (plural chasses)[1] Old French chace.[1][2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from chasser (Old French chacier),[3][4][5][1] which continues Vulgar Latin *captiō, from Latin captō (“to try to catch”).[6][7] An adjective Late Latin captiōsus (“fond of hunting”) is found in a 6th-century text from Auxerre.[6]

Cognate with Italian caccia, Old Occitan cassa, Spanish caza and Portuguese caça.[6][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier d'Arras's Ille et Galeron (1167–1170) has a chace “at full gallop”;[3] about 1175 Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it both for a pursuit and for the hunting of game.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Donner la chasse, “to give chase”, was a naval phrase in the 15th century.[3] In 1549 Robert Estienne records chasse for a rush of water let loose to clear a channel, the origin of chasse d'eau “flush” (1913).[3][5] Monet (1635) uses it for the game killed and for a hunting tune, and Furetière (1690) for the whole hunting party and for an estate where one hunts.[3]

Chasse à l'homme “manhunt” is in Balzac (1841).[3] In aviation escadrilles de chasse (1931) and avion de chasse (1936) are fighter units and fighter planes, and la chasse ennemie in Malraux (1937) the enemy fighters.[3] In mechanics it has meant the play left to a moving part since 1732.[3]

Timeline

  • 1167–1170 – A chace “at full gallop”.[3]
  • c. 1175 – Pursuit; hunting.[3]
  • 15th century – Donner la chasse.[3]
  • 1549 – A rush of water to clear a channel.[3]
  • 1635 – Game killed; a hunting tune.[3]
  • 1690 – A hunting estate; the hunting party.[3]
  • 1841 – Chasse à l'homme, in Balzac.[3]
  • 1913 – Chasse d'eau.[3]
  • 1936 – Avion de chasse.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Hunting, the hunt: aller à la chasse, permis de chasse, chasse à courre, hunting with hounds.[8][5][1]
  2. The game taken: faire bonne chasse.[8][3]
  3. A hunting ground; the hunting party.[3]
  4. Pursuit, chase: donner la chasse à, prendre en chasse, chasse à l'homme, a manhunt.[3][8]
  5. (aviation) Fighter aircraft: avion de chasse.[3]
  6. Chasse d'eau: the flush of a toilet.[3]
  7. (mechanics) The play left to a moving part.[3]

Usage notes

Chasse is distinguished in pronunciation from châsse “reliquary”, which has a back /ɑ/.[3] The proverb qui va à la chasse perd sa place means “leave your place and you lose it”.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Chasse.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/chasse. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·