Etymologically
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chauffeur

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 02:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃo.fœʁ/[1]

Forms

chauffeur m (plural chauffeurs, feminine chauffeuse or chauffeure)[1]

Etymology

It is from French chauffer + -eur.[2][3][1] Chauffer “to heat” comes from Vulgar Latin *calefō, from classical Latin calefaciō (“to make warm”).[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised TLF etymology finds an isolated record in 1455, in Jean Prieur, where Lucifer makes a devil premier chauffeur de la chaudiere, the stoker of the cauldrons of hell; the word reappears from 1573 in Plantin's dictionary.[5] Richelet (1680), long given as the first record, defines it as the man who works the bellows of a forge to make the metal red-hot.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

With the steam engine it named the stoker of a boiler (1825) and, in railway use, the fireman of a locomotive, the driver's assistant (1834).[5][2][6] Although the two jobs differ, the word slid to the sense “driver of a motor car” in 1896, when early cars were often steam-driven; a feminine chauffeuse appears in 1898, and the pejorative chauffard “road hog” in 1897.[2][7][6][8] The sense of a paid driver came later.[9][8]

From the original sense “one who heats”, chauffeurs were also bandits who burned their victims' feet to make them reveal where their money was hidden; the word is found in newspapers of 1797, and the trial of the gang of Orgères recorded their slang.[7][6][2] A chauffeuse is also a low chair for sitting by the fire (1830, Balzac).[2][6]

English took chauffeur in 1896 for a motorist, and in 1902 for a paid driver of a private car.[8]

Timeline

  • 1455 – Isolated record in Jean Prieur, for the stoker of hell's cauldrons.[5]
  • 1680 – Richelet records it for the bellows-worker of a forge.[2]
  • 1797 – Newspapers report on the bandits called chauffeurs.[7]
  • 1834 – Used for the fireman of a locomotive.[2][6]
  • 1896 – Used for the driver of a motor car;[2][7] English borrows it.[2][7][8]
  • 1897 – Chauffard is recorded.[6]
  • 1898 – The feminine chauffeuse is recorded.[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A driver of a motor vehicle, especially a professional one: chauffeur de taxi, de camion;[10] chauffeur de maître, a private chauffeur.[10][11]
  2. (familiar) Someone who drives another person around in their own car.[11]
  3. A stoker, who tends the fire of a forge, furnace or boiler; the fireman of a steam locomotive.[10][2]
  4. (historical) A bandit who burned victims' feet to make them reveal their hidden money.[10][11]

Word family

  • chauffard
  • chauffeuse

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 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Steinfeld, Nadine; Buchi, Éva, eds. (2005–), TLF-Étym: révision des notices étymologiques du Trésor de la langue française informatisé, Nancy: ATILF
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)