Etymologically
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faim

Etymology and origin of the French word faim

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
mid-11th century, Vie de saint Alexis
Inherited from
Latin fames
Ultimate origin
Latin (famēs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fɛ̃/[1]

Forms

faim f (plural faims)[1] Old French fain, faim.[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin famēs (“hunger; violent desire”).[3][4][5][6][7] Rey notes that “famēs” has no correspondent outside Latin, the words for hunger and thirst varying from one Indo-European language to another; the Petit Robert calls it of obscure origin.[4][8]

Cognate with Romanian foame, Italian fame, Occitan fam, Catalan fam, Spanish hambre and Portuguese fome.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (mid-11th century) it is the need to eat.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “desire, longing for” is found about 1200 in the First Continuation of Perceval: n'ont si grant fain De riens con de veoir Gauvain.[3] In Old French this sense competed with talent, still used in the dialects of Languedoc.[4][5] Beaumanoir writes se aucuns a faim de savoir.[10] In the 16th and 17th centuries avoir faim de could even mean any urge, as Oudin noted (1640).[11] Compounds include meurt-de-faim (1690, mort-de-faim, 1604), crève-la-faim (1870) and coupe-faim, faim-valle, a ravenous hunger (about 1150), gave fringale.[4][8]

Timeline

  • Mid-11th century – Vie de saint Alexis.[3]
  • c. 1150 – Fainvale.[4]
  • 1155 – Famine.[4]
  • c. 1200 – “Desire, longing”.[3]
  • 1640 – Faim for any urge, Oudin.[11]
  • 1690 – Meurt-de-faim.[4]
  • 1870 – Crève-la-faim.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. hunger: avoir faim, une faim de loup, mourir de faim, rester sur sa faim.[8][12][1]
  2. Hunger as want of food in a population: la faim dans le monde, grève de la faim.[8][1]
  3. (figurative) A craving, longing: avoir faim de tendresse.[3][12]

Word family

  • affamer
  • affamé
  • famine
  • coupe-faim
  • crève-la-faim
  • meurt-de-faim
  • faim-valle
  • fringale
  • famélique
  • Latin famēs

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 406a
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  11. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  12. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Faim.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/faim. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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