Etymologically
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chocolat

Etymology and origin of the French word chocolat

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1598, translation of Acosta, chocolate
Borrowed from
Spanish chocolate
Ultimate origin
Nahuatl (chocolātl)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃɔ.kɔ.la/[1]

Forms

chocolat (invariable)[1] Chocolate (1598, still in 1740), chocolat (1634 or 1659).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish chocolate (1590[2][3][5][4][1][6]; “chocollatl” about 1580),[2][3][5][4][1][6] itself from Nahuatl chocolātl, a Nahuatl word of Mexico whose formation is hard to analyse except for the ending “-atl” “water”.[2][3][1][7] Rey suggests that Europeans may have confused it with the Mexican word for cacao, the source of cacao.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 1598 French translation of José de Acosta's history of the Indies, speaking of Peru, has chocolate for a drink made from cacao beans.[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Drink and word probably spread in France with the marriage of Louis XIV to the Spanish infanta.[3] The form chocolat and the sense “food made of cacao and sugar” appear in letters patent of 1659; the solid chocolate later outran the drink.[2][3] Mme de Sévigné has the chocolatière (1671), and the chocolatier appears in 1694.[3]

Un chocolat is a chocolate sweet (1901), and as an invariable adjective chocolat is a dark reddish-brown colour (1863).[3][8][9] After the clown Chocolat, faire le chocolat was to play the dupe (1886), and être chocolat is to be let down.[3][10] In south-western France a chocolatine is a pain au chocolat.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1580 – Spanish chocollatl.[2][3]
  • 1598 – Chocolate, a drink.[2][3]
  • 1659 – Chocolat, the food.[2][3]
  • 1671 – Chocolatière (Mme de Sévigné).[3]
  • 1694 – Chocolatier.[3]
  • 1863 – A colour adjective.[8]
  • 1886 – Faire le chocolat.[3]
  • 1901 – Un chocolat, a sweet.[3][9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Chocolate: tablette de chocolat, chocolat noir, chocolat au lait.[9][1]
  2. A drink of chocolate, hot chocolate.[1][10]
  3. A chocolate sweet: une boîte de chocolats.[9][10]

Adjective

  1. Chocolate-coloured, dark reddish-brown.[10][1]
  2. (familiar) Être chocolat: to be let down, duped.[10][1]

Word family

  • chocolater
  • chocolaterie
  • chocolatine
  • chocolatier
  • chocolatière

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 20, 63b
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Chocolat.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/chocolat. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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