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chimpanzé

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Etymology and origin of the French word chimpanzé

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1738 La Brosse, quoted by Buffon More words from the 18th century
Borrowed from
Kongo kimpanzi

Pronunciation

  • /ʃɛ̃.pɑ̃.ze/[1]

Forms

chimpanzé m (plural chimpanzés)[1] Earlier spellings were quimpezé (1738), chimpanrée (1756), champanzee (1766), chimpansé (1803) and chimpanzée (1838); chimpanzé is recorded from 1845.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Kongo kimpanzi (also transcribed chimpanzi), a word of a Bantu language of the Kongo group spoken in Congo, Angola and Gabon, according to the DHLF.[3] The TLFi and the FEW call it a borrowing from a native language of the Congo,[2][4] the GLLF gives the African form as cimpenze,[5] and Bloch and Wartburg and the Robert dictionaries say only that it comes from a language of West Africa.[6][7][8] The French spelling of 1766 was taken from English chimpanzee, also recorded in 1738.[3][2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1738 as quimpezé, in La Brosse's account quoted by Buffon in his Histoire naturelle, as the name of the African ape.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word displaced troglodyte, the name Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire had used, after the ancient authors who applied it to a race of “wild men” that were probably apes.[3] Its spelling wavered for a century, through chimpansé (1803, Boiste) and chimpanzée (1838), before chimpanzé settled in 1845 (Bescherelle).[2][5] In literature it is used figuratively of people, as by Céline (1932) and Camus.[2]

Timeline

  • 1738 – Quimpezé appears in La Brosse's account, quoted by Buffon.[2][6]
  • 1756 – Brisson writes chimpanrée.[2][3]
  • 1766 – Buffon writes champanzee, noting it as an English word.[2]
  • 1803 – Boiste writes chimpansé.[2][5]
  • 1838 – The spelling chimpanzée appears.[2][3]
  • 1845 – Bescherelle records the modern spelling chimpanzé.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A chimpanzee, the great ape of equatorial Africa, living in trees and on the ground;[8][10][11] chimpanzé nain is the bonobo.[8][10][11]
  2. (figurative, pejorative) A person likened to an ape.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 20, 87a
  5. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Chimpanzé.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/chimpanz%C3%A9. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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