Etymologically
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couloir

Etymology and origin of the French word couloir

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1105, Rashi's glosses (coledoir)
Ultimate origin
Latin (cōlum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ku.lwaʁ/[1]

Forms

couloir m (plural couloirs)[1] Coledoir (before 1105), coulouer (1376), couloir (1378).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French couler + -oir, from the stem of couler “to strain; to flow; to slide”.[2][3][4][1] That verb is from Latin cōlō (“to filter, strain”), from cōlum (“strainer”).[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rashi's Judeo-French glosses (before 1105) have coledoir for a bowl with a cloth bottom for straining milk.[2][4] A 14th-century text speaks of deux ou trois couloueres pour gecter le gros relief, vessels for scraps after a meal.[6]

Semantic evolution

The Académie (1762) records couloir for a duct of the body, as in les couloirs de la bile.[2][4] The modern sense, a passage, starts on ships: Trévoux (1704) uses it for the passage leading to the cabins, and Blondel (1752–56) has un corridor ou couloir in architecture.[2] Saussure (1786) uses it for a gully in mountains.[2][7] In 1866 les couloirs are the place where unofficial information and secret dealings pass, whence bruits de couloir “rumours”.[2][8] The 20th century added the lane of a running track or swimming pool, a bus lane and an air corridor.[4][8]

Timeline

  • Before 1105 – Coledoir “strainer”, Rashi.[2]
  • 1378 – Couloir.[2]
  • 1704 – A passage on a ship, Trévoux.[2]
  • 1752–1756 – A corridor in a building, Blondel.[2]
  • 1786 – A mountain gully, Saussure.[2]
  • 1866 – Les couloirs of politics.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A corridor, passage, hallway: au fond du couloir, les couloirs du métro.[8][1]
  2. The corridor of a train; the aisle of an aircraft: place côté couloir.[8][1]
  3. Les couloirs: the lobbies of an assembly, bruits de couloir, rumours.[2][8]
  4. A lane: couloir de bus, (sport) the lane of a track or pool.[8][4]
  5. A gully in the mountains; a narrow passage between two regions: couloir aérien, couloir humanitaire.[2][1]
  • couler
  • coulisse
  • corridor

Usage notes

The TLFi gives a numbered entry of its own to couloir, also couloire, “strainer, sieve”, the oldest sense, now old-fashioned.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Couloir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/couloir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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