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contrée

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Etymology and origin of the French word contrée

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050 Vie de saint Alexis More words from the 11th century
Inherited from
Latin *contrata via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin contrā

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ̃.tʁe/[1]

Forms

contrée f (plural contrées)[1] Old French cuntretha, cuntrede and contree.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French contree, inherited from Vulgar Latin *contrāta, short for contrata regio “the land lying opposite (the one who looks at it)”, a feminine adjective formed on Latin contrā (“opposite, against”).[2][3][4][5][1] Cognate with Italian contrada and Occitan contrada.[6][5] Bloch and Wartburg note that German Gegend was formed on gegen on the model of the French word.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as cuntretha and cuntrede in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050),[2][3] and as cuntrée in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), meaning a land or region.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word names a stretch of land of any size, from the surroundings of a place to a whole region or country.[3][6] It has grown old-fashioned except in some literary uses.[3][7] Littré records a forestry sense, the area assigned to commoners for grazing.[6] English borrowed the Old French word as country in the mid-13th century.[8][6]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Cuntretha appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2][3]
  • c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland writes contree.[2][3]
  • mid-13th century – English borrows the word as country.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary or dated) A region or land, a tract of country: une contrée montagneuse.[7][2][1]
  2. (forestry, dated) The area of a forest assigned to commoners for grazing.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Contrée.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/contr%C3%A9e. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·