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cheville

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Etymology and origin of the French word cheville

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1160 Eneas More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin *cavicula
Ultimate origin
Latin clavis

Pronunciation

Forms

cheville f (plural chevilles)[1] Picard and Anglo-Norman keville;[2][3] Anglo-Norman also chevile and kevil.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *cavicula, a dissimilated form of Latin clāvicula (“small key, tendril of a vine”), the diminutive of clāvis (“key”).[4][5][6][7] The Latin word meant first a vine tendril, then was used as a synonym of the word for “key”;[4][7] Bloch and Wartburg think it took the sense “peg” in Late Latin.[4][7] Its anatomical use is found in Medieval Latin in the 13th century.[4][6] The learned borrowing clavicule is its doublet.[1][6]

Cognate with Old Occitan cavilha, whence Italian caviglia, and Portuguese cavilha;[7][2] the undissimilated Latin form gave Catalan clavilla and Spanish clavija.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Roman d'Eneas (about 1160) it is a wooden peg used to join pieces together; the sense “ankle” follows in the Roman de Troie (about 1165–1170).[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The technical senses turn around the idea of a rod of wood or metal for joining or, from about 1200, for hanging things.[6][4] The peg of a stringed instrument is recorded in 1599.[4][6] From Malherbe (before 1628) on, a cheville is also a padding word put into a line of verse for the metre or rhyme.[4][6]

Cheville ouvrière was the large pin joining the front axle to the body of a carriage (1635); since 1700 it has also meant a person who plays the essential part.[4][6] The butchers' commerce à la cheville (1845), selling meat by the carcass hung on hooks, gave chevillard “wholesale butcher” (1863).[4][7] Être en cheville avec quelqu'un “to be in league with someone” (1926) may come from a carter's term for a horse harnessed between two others.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – The Roman d'Eneas uses it for a wooden peg.[4]
  • c. 1165–1170 – The Roman de Troie uses it for the ankle.[4]
  • c. 1200 – It names a hook or peg for hanging.[4]
  • 1599 – Hornkens records the musical sense, the peg of a stringed instrument.[4][9]
  • Before 1628 – Malherbe uses it for a filler word in verse.[4][6]
  • 1635 – Monet records cheville ouvrière.[4]
  • 1700 – Regnard uses cheville ouvrière of a key person.[4][6]
  • 1926 – Être en cheville avec is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A peg or pin of wood or metal used to plug a hole or join pieces together.[10][4]
  2. A dowel or wall plug that holds a screw.[1][10]
  3. Cheville ouvrière: the main pin of a mechanism; figuratively, the person who plays the essential part, the linchpin.[10][4]
  4. (music) A tuning peg of a stringed instrument.[4][9]
  5. (versification) A word or phrase added to a line only for the metre or rhyme, a padding word.[4][1]
  6. (anatomy) The ankle.[4][1]
  7. (familiar) Être en cheville avec quelqu'un: to be in league with someone.[6]

Word family

  • chevillette
  • cheviller
  • chevillard
  • chevillier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 759b
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cheville.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cheville. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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