Etymologically
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disque

Etymology and origin of the French word disque

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1555, Du Choul
Borrowed from
Latin discus
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (δίσκος)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek δίσκος
Latin discus
English dish
French disque
English disc

Pronunciation

Forms

disque m (plural disques)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin discus (“discus, quoit; plate”),[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek δίσκος (dískos, “discus”),[3][1] which Rey derives from δικεῖν (dikeîn, “to throw”).[3] The same Latin word had given the inherited dais.[1][4] Rey compares German Tisch (“table”), and Littré English desk.[3][6]

The sense “gramophone record” may owe something to English disc (1888).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Du Choul (1555) uses it for a discus thrower, a sense later taken by discobole;[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note it was little used before the 17th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

It kept the sense of the ancient athletes' discus, revived in modern athletics.[3][7] By likeness of shape it was used from 1680 of the visible face of a heavenly body and of a lens,[2][3] in botany (1764), in anatomy (1805, disques intervertébraux, 1852) and on the railways for a round signal (1864–1865).[2][8]

The sense “gramophone record” dates from 1900–1918, after rouleau and cylindre;[2][3] the 78 rpm was followed by the long-playing record and, about 1982, by the disque compact.[3] Changer de disque “to change the subject” dates from the 78 era.[3] In computing a disque stores data (disque dur), and the disque de stationnement (1957) is a parking disc.[3][1]

Timeline

  • 1555 – A discus thrower, in Du Choul.[2]
  • 1680 – The disc of a star; a lens.[2]
  • 1805 – A cartilaginous disc, in Cuvier.[2]
  • 1865 – A railway signal.[2]
  • 1918 – A gramophone record, in Maurois.[2]
  • 1928 – Discothèque.[3]
  • c. 1982 – Disque compact.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A discus: lancer le disque.[7][9]
  2. A disc, any flat round object: frein à disque, disque de stationnement.[7][1]
  3. The disc of the sun or moon.[7][9]
  4. A gramophone record; a compact disc: disque vinyle, disque d'or.[3][1]
  5. (computing) A disk: disque dur.[1][3]
  6. (anatomy) A disc: disque intervertébral.[2][1]
  7. Changer de disque: to change the record, stop harping on.[3][1]

Word family

  • discographie
  • discographique
  • discophile
  • discophilie
  • discothèque
  • disquette
  • disquaire

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 93a
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Disque.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/disque. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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