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Etymology and origin of the French word cru

cru1 growth, vineyard, vintage

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1307
Ultimate origin
Latin crēscō

Pronunciation

Forms

cru m (plural crus)[1]

Etymology

The word for a vineyard is the masculine past participle used as a noun, from French croître.[2][3][4][5] The feminine of the same participle gave crue “rise of a river”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1307 as creu, for the land as it bears vines and wine.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Older usage applied it more widely to whatever grows in a region and, by metonymy, to the land itself; the phrase de son cru, literally “of one's own growing”, is recorded in 1573 and now means “of one's own invention”.[6][2] Today it is mostly a wine term: a vineyard and its wine, as in grand cru and vin du cru.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1307 – Creu is recorded for a vine-growing land.[2]
  • 1573 – Dupuys records de leur creu in a figurative sense.[2]
  • 16th century – Vin du cru appears in a customary.[5][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated) Growth: the amount a plant has grown.[5][4]
  2. A vineyard or wine-growing land: les crus de la vallée du Rhône, vin du cru.[7][4]
  3. A wine from a given land; a vintage: déguster un grand cru.[7][8]
  4. De son cru: of one's own invention.[7][6]

Word family

  • bouilleur de cru

cru2 raw

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1165–1170
Inherited from
Latin crudus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin crūdus
Etymology tree of cru2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin crūdus
French cru
Italian crudo
Romanian crud
English crude
From the same root · cru2
Latin crūdēlis ← crūdus
Latin crūdēscō ← crūdus
Latin crūditās ← crūdus

Pronunciation

Forms

cru (feminine crue, masculine plural crus, feminine plural crues)[1] Old French creu;[9][1][5] Middle French crud.[9][1][5]

Etymology

The word for raw is inherited from Old French cru, inherited from Latin crūdus (“bloody, raw”).[6][10][11][4] The Latin adjective is derived from cruor (“shed blood”), from an Indo-European root for raw flesh and spilled blood, also seen in Ancient Greek κρέας (kréas, “flesh”).[6][7] From “bloody” the Latin adjective came to mean “uncooked”, “undigested” and “unripe”.[6]

Cognate with Italian crudo, Spanish crudo and Old Occitan cru.[11][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1165–1170, for food that has not been cooked, raw.[6][4][9]

Semantic evolution

From food the word passed to raw materials, such as leather and silk not yet worked (1268), a sense now mostly taken by brut and écru; since 1765 eau crue has been hard water.[6][4] The sense “cold and damp” (about 1360) lives on in the east and north of France, in Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.[6]

From the idea of something unsoftened it came to mean “blunt, unvarnished” (1460) and then “indecent” (1819), and for colours and light “harsh, glaring” (before 1754).[6][12] The phrase à cru dates from Middle French, and monter à cru “to ride bareback” from 1660.[6]

Timeline

  • 1165–1170 – First recorded, of uncooked food.[6]
  • 1268 – Used of unworked raw materials.[6]
  • c. 1360 – The sense “cold and damp” appears.[6]
  • 1460 – First used for blunt speech.[6]
  • 1660 – Monter à cru “to ride bareback” is recorded.[6]
  • 1765 – Eau crue is used for hard water.[6]
  • 1819 – The sense “indecent” appears.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. raw, not cooked: des carottes crues, lait cru.[7][12]
  2. Not processed, crude: cuir cru, soie crue, briques crues.[4][12]
  3. (of light or colour) Harsh, glaring: un éclairage cru.[12][6]
  4. Blunt, said without softening; also coarse, indecent: des mots crus.[12][6]
  5. (regional) Cold and damp.[6]
  6. À cru: directly on the skin;[6] monter à cru: to ride bareback.[6]

Word family

  • écru
  • crûment

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1324b
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1368a
  11. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  12. ^ a b c d e Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cru.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cru. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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