Etymologically
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courage

Etymology and origin of the French word courage

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis
Ultimate origin
Latin (cor)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ku.ʁaʒ/[1]

Forms

courage m (plural courages)[1] Old French curage (1050), corage, couraige.[2][3] Palsgrave notes the pronunciation couraige in the 16th century.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French corage, formed from Old French cuer + -age, from cur or cor, old forms of cœur.[4][2][5][6][7] Wiktionary and Littré trace it to Vulgar Latin *corāticum, from Latin cor (“heart”), Littré points out that the ⟨tg⟩ of Provençal and the double ⟨g⟩ of Italian presuppose this form.[1][3]

Cognate with Italian coraggio, Occitan coratge, Catalan coratge, Spanish coraje and Portuguese coragem.[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (1050) it is the heart as the seat of feelings; in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it means state of mind, intention, and hence desire or eagerness: sis curages pesmes “his heart is fierce”.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In Old French it was the heart, temper and spirit, and the AND records “heart, disposition, mind, intention, desire” as well as “courage, mettle”.[3][8] Jean Bodel (about 1196) uses it for firmness in the face of danger.[9] The sense “feelings, heart” lived on in classical French (Corneille, Racine: fléchissez son courage), but from the 17th century the distinction from cœur became clearer, and courage kept the senses of bravery and of energy in an undertaking.[6][9][5] The exhortation bon courage ! is quoted from Flaubert (1849).[10]

Timeline

  • 1050 – Curage “heart”, Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • c. 1100 – “Intention, eagerness”, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1196 – Firmness in the face of danger, Jean Bodel.[9]
  • 17th century – Its meaning is clearly separated from cœur.[6]
  • 1849 – Bon courage !, Flaubert.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. courage, bravery: firmness in the face of danger or suffering: se battre avec courage.[5][1]
  2. Energy, heart for doing something: je n'ai pas le courage de me lever, perdre courage.[5]
  3. (old) The heart as the seat of feelings; pride.[5][9]

Interjection

  1. Courage !, bon courage !: chin up!, keep going![1][10]

Word family

  • courageux
  • courageusement
  • encourager
  • encouragement
  • décourager
  • découragement

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1174a
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
Cite this entry

“Courage.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/courage. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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