Etymologically
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falaise

Etymology and origin of the French word falaise

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1130, Eneas
Inherited from
Old French faleise
Ultimate origin
Frankish (*falisa)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fa.lɛz/[1]

Forms

falaise f (plural falaises)[1] Old French faleise, faloise, falise.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French faleise, originally a dialect word of the coasts of Normandy and Picardy,[3][2][5] probably from Frankish *falisa (“rock”),[3][6][7] answering to Old High German felisa and German Fels (“rock”).[3][2] Since Gallo-Romance had no words stressed on the third-last syllable ending in -esa, the word was treated like nouns in -ésa and its stress moved.[3][5] Wiktionary takes the Frankish word from Proto-Germanic *falisaz (“rock, cliff”) and compares English fell.[1] The form “falise” is Picard and Walloon.[3]

P. Guiraud proposed instead a link with Old French faloise (“deceit”), from Old French falir, a form of faillir, the cliff being ground that “gives way”;[2][6] the Grand Robert calls the origin uncertain.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as faleise about 1130 in the Roman d'Eneas;[8] Wace (about 1155) uses it of the cliffs that border the sea.[5]

Semantic evolution

The spelling falaise is found about 1182.[8][2] In Old French it could also mean sandy ground, and Ronsard uses it for a sandbank.[9] Its main sense has stayed the rocky escarpment along the sea, as at Étretat or Dover;[2][10] by analogy it is used of a rock face above a river, and in geography of any steep scarp, such as the falaise d'Île-de-France.[10][8] Geologists speak of a falaise morte, a cliff now set back from the shore.[10]

The Anglo-Norman faleise was used in England, also as a surname.[4] French falaise was borrowed into Portuguese falésia and Romanian faleză.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Faleise in the Roman d'Eneas.[8]
  • c. 1155 – Wace's sea cliffs.[5]
  • c. 1182 – The spelling falaise.[8]
  • 15th century – Deschamps's falize of England.[9]
  • 1694 – Recorded by the Académie.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cliff: a steep rock face along the sea, formed by erosion.[10][11]
  2. A steep rock face above a river; in geography, an escarpment.[10][8]
  3. Falaise morte: an old cliff now set back from the coast.[10]
  • German Fels
  • English fell

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c 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. 15/2, 104a
  8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Falaise.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/falaise. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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