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club

Etymology and origin of the French word club

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English club
French club

French took the English word club twice: in the 18th century for an association, and in 1882 for the stick used in golf.[1][2]

club1 association

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1702, Miège
Borrowed from
English club
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (klubba)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /klœb/[3]
  • IPA (Canada): /klyb/[3]
  • IPA (Canada): [klʏb][3]
  • IPA (Canada): /klɔb/[3]

Forms

club m (plural clubs)[3]

Etymology

The association is borrowed from English club, used in that sense since the 17th century.[4][5][1] The English word first meant a heavy stick, clubbe (about 1205), from Old Norse klubba, an assimilated form of klumba (“club, cudgel”).[1][6] The sense “group of people” is hard to derive from “cudgel”; it is thought to come from a sense “mass, lump” (1450), perhaps through the English verb club (“to put together, combine”).[4][1] Littré's explanation from the Civil War and Skinner's from an Old English verb “to divide” are old guesses.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guy Miège's État présent de l'Angleterre (1702) uses it for an English association;[4][1] Rey finds it in 1698 for an English society meeting to drink and talk.[4][1]

Semantic evolution

The word was still rare in France in the 18th century (Club de l'Entresol, 1724–1731) and spread shortly before the Revolution (1774, Beaumarchais) in the sense “political society”, as in le club des Jacobins.[4][1][5] The Revolution coined clubiste (1784) and many other derivatives.[1][5] In the 19th century it came to mean an aristocratic circle for reading, talk and play, like the Jockey Club, and a society for sport or leisure.[1][8][9] A new borrowing gave fauteuil club, a deep leather armchair (1934), and the familiar bienvenue au club ! welcomes someone in the same plight.[1][9]

Timeline

  • 1698 – Of an English society.[1]
  • 1702 – In Miège.[4]
  • 1724–1731 – The Club de l'Entresol.[4]
  • 1774 – A political club in France.[4][5]
  • 1784 – Clubiste.[5]
  • 1934 – A leather armchair.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (history) A political society: le club des Jacobins.[9][10]
  2. A circle whose members meet to talk, read or play: le Jockey Club.[9][6]
  3. An association for sport, travel or other leisure: club sportif, le Club alpin.[9][6]
  4. A closed group of people or countries sharing a position: le club des puissances atomiques, bienvenue au club ![6][9]
  5. Fauteuil club, club: a deep leather armchair.[9][1]

Word family

  • clubiste
  • clubman

club2 golf club

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1882
Borrowed from
English club
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (klubba)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /klœb/[3]
  • IPA (Canada): /klyb/[3]
  • IPA (Canada): [klʏb][3]
  • IPA (Canada): /klɔb/[3]

Forms

club m (plural clubs)[3]

Etymology

The golf club is a second borrowing borrowed from English club, here in its proper sense of a heavy stick, used for clubs in ball games, especially golf, from about 1450.[1][2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded in 1882, first for a stick used at polo and then mainly at golf.[1][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (golf) A golf club: le caddie transporte les clubs.[9][6]
  2. A light club used by jugglers.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Club.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/club. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·