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cylindrique

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Etymology and origin of the French word cylindrique

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1596 Secrets et merveilles de nature More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κύλινδρος

Forms

cylindrique (plural cylindriques)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French cylindre + -ique.[2][3][4][1] The noun was taken from Latin cylindrus, itself from Ancient Greek κύλινδρος (kúlindros),[5][1] a derivative of the Greek verb meaning “to roll”.[5] Rey connects that verb with the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn round”).[5] Littré instead derived the adjective directly from κυλινδρικός (kulindrikós).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1596, in the Secrets et merveilles de nature, meaning “shaped like a cylinder”.[2][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has kept its first sense, “having the shape of a cylinder, wholly or in part”, said of tubes, tanks, rollers, holes and the like.[2][8][5] The sense “relating to the cylinder” is dated 1863, from Littré;[7] in geometry a surface cylindrique is the surface traced by a straight line that moves parallel to a fixed direction along a fixed curve.[7]

The TLFi also records it of a person's build, in Mounier's study of character (1946).[2]

Timeline

  • 1596 – First record, in the Secrets et merveilles de nature.[2]
  • 1863 – The sense “relating to the cylinder” is recorded by Littré.[7]
  • 1946 – Mounier applies it to a person's build.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Shaped like a cylinder, wholly or in part: un tube cylindrique.[2][8][6]
  2. Relating to the cylinder: (geometry) surface cylindrique, a surface traced by a straight line moving parallel to itself along a fixed curve.[7][2]
  • cylindre
  • cylindrée
  • cylindrer
  • cylindroïde

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Cylindrique.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/cylindrique. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·