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colombin

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Etymology and origin of the French word colombin

colombin1 dovelike

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1227 Gautier de Coinci, Miracle de sainte Léocade
Borrowed from
Latin columbinus
Ultimate origin
Latin columba
Etymology tree of colombin1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin columba
French colombe
Italian colomba
Latin columbīnus
Italian colombino
French colombin
From the same root · colombin1
Latin columbus ← columba
Latin columbīna ← columbīnus

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.lɔ̃.bɛ̃/[1]

Forms

colombin (feminine colombine, masculine plural colombins, feminine plural colombines)[1]

Etymology

The adjective for doves is borrowed from Latin columbīnus (“of the pigeon or dove, dove-coloured”), from columba (“dove”).[2][3][4][5] The phrase baiser colombin is a calque of osculum columbinum (“the dove's kiss”), that is, the kiss of love, in St Augustine.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier de Coinci writes Il nos font chiere columbine about 1227, of a face “dovelike, gentle as a dove”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

From the 15th century the adjective also named the changing colour of a pigeon's throat, between red and violet;[2][7][8] Amadis Jamyn has it about 1575–1584.[2] The adjective stayed rare, and the colour name gave way to gorge de pigeon: Trévoux says in 1771 that colombin is ageing.[4][2] Ronsard has baisers colombins in the 16th century.[6]

As a noun, the masculine names the stock dove and, in the plural, the order of pigeons,[2][3] and the feminine colombine, short for fiente colombine, means pigeon or poultry droppings used as manure.[4][2][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1227 – Gautier de Coinci's chiere columbine.[2]
  • 15th century – First used of the colour of a pigeon's throat.[7][3][8]
  • c. 1575–1584 – Amadis Jamyn uses it of this colour.[2][4]
  • 1701 – The GLLF dates colombine “pigeon droppings” to Liger;[3][7] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1743.[3][7]
  • 1771 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux calls the word dated, preferring gorge de pigeon.[2]
  • 1809 – Lamarck names the order of birds Colombins.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (rare) Of doves or pigeons: fiente colombine.[2][8]
  2. Baiser colombin: a lover's kiss with parted lips.[2]
  3. (dated) Of the shifting colour of a pigeon's throat, between red and violet, gorge-de-pigeon: taffetas colombin, soie colombine.[2][3][8]

Noun

  1. The stock dove, a wild pigeon without a white collar.[2][8]
  2. (in the plural, dated) The order of pigeons and their kin.[2][3]

Word family

  • colombine

colombin2 coil of clay, turd

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1844
Ultimate origins
Latin columbaFrench -in
Etymology tree of colombin2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin columba
French colombe
French colombin
Italian colomba
From the same root · colombin2
Latin columbīnus ← columba
Latin columbus ← columba

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.lɔ̃.bɛ̃/[1]

Forms

colombin m (plural colombins)[9]

Etymology

The noun for a coil of clay is of obscure origin.[4][9][8] If it was coined in pottery, Rey suggests a derivation, from French colombe2 (“beam of half-timbering”) + -in, with the suffix as in boudin, the first sense being a roll or moulding at the foot of a column, and the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert also offer this beam.[4][9][8] Rey also proposes a metaphor from colombe (“dove”), comparing the descendants of Latin columbus that name long bread rolls, and pigeon in the sense of a handful of kneaded plaster (1694).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1844, in pottery, for a long roll of soft clay used to build pots without a wheel.[9][8][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The slang sense “turd, horse or dog dung” is recorded in 1867, among actors.[4][3][10] Rey sees a metaphor helped by the colombine of fiente colombine, and the Petit Robert suggests that sense may come from colombine “pigeon droppings”.[4][8]

Timeline

Meanings

Noun

  1. (pottery) A long roll of soft clay, used to build up a pot without a potter's wheel.[8][3][4]
  2. (familiar) A turd.[8][3][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 930a
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Bob, dictionnaire d'argot, de français familier et populaire, languefrancaise.net/Bob

Related etymologies

  • et · also from Latin
  • de · also from Latin
  • ne · also from Latin
  • je · also from Latin
  • avoir · also from Latin
  • être · also from Latin
  • tu · also from Latin
  • tout · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Colombin.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/colombin. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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