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connerie

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Etymology and origin of the French word connerie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1845, Flaubert, Correspondance
Ultimate origin
Latin (cunnus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French con
French connerie

Pronunciation

Forms

connerie f (plural conneries)[1] Recorded as conn'ri' in 1865.[2]

Etymology

It is from French con + -erie.[2][3][4][1] The noun con continues Latin cunnus (“female genitals”) (about 1195–1200);[2][5][6] its figurative use for a fool, as an adjective first recorded in a letter from Mérimée to Stendhal (1831), is probably a remaking of conard (13th century).[2][4] Rey calls the Latin word of obscure origin, comparing Ancient Greek κύσθος (kústhos).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert finds it in Flaubert's correspondence (1845), probably with an erotic meaning.[3]

Semantic evolution

The TLFi's first record is conn'ri' in the Chanson de Mouchebœuf (1865), quoted by Lorédan Larchey in 1873.[2] The GLLF dates its common senses to Bauche's dictionary of popular French (1920), and Barbusse uses des conneries for foolish talk.[7] Familiar and vulgar, it is now in very wide use for any stupid act or remark, Prévert's Quelle connerie la guerre and Michel Audiard's film dialogue made it famous.[4]

Timeline

  • 1831 – Con “idiot”, Mérimée.[2]
  • 1845 – Connerie, Flaubert.[3]
  • 1865 – Conn'ri', Chanson de Mouchebœuf.[2]
  • 1920 – Recorded by Bauche.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (familiar, vulgar) stupidity, idiocy.[4][1]
  2. (familiar, vulgar) A stupid act or remark; a blunder: faire, dire des conneries, arrête tes conneries.[4][2]
  3. (familiar, vulgar) Nonsense, rubbish: tout ça c'est des conneries.[4][1]
  • con
  • conard
  • connard

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Connerie.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/connerie. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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