Etymologically
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fibre

Etymology and origin of the French word fibre

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1372, Corbichon
Borrowed from
Latin fibra
Ultimate origin
Latin (fibra)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fibʁ/[1]

Forms

fibre f (plural fibres)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fibra (“fibre (of plants and animals); lobe of the liver; entrails”),[2][3][4][5] which in the augurs' language meant a division of the liver, and by extension the entrails and, figuratively, the feelings.[3] Littré linked it with fiber (“at the extremity”).[6]

Cognate with Occitan fibra, Spanish fibra and Italian fibra.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1372, in Jean Corbichon's translation of Bartholomew the Englishman's De proprietatibus rerum.[2][4] Ambroise Paré (1580) speaks of fibres nerveuses in the bones.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Latin sense of a thread-like element of animal or plant tissue (muscle, nerve and wood fibres),[3][7] and by analogy was used of minerals and of textiles: fibre de bois (1930), fibre de verre and fibre optique (20th century).[3][8] In dietetics fibres alimentaires are the parts of plant foods not digested, a use encouraged by advertising after English fibre.[3][7]

From fibres nerveuses, or as a Latinism, the plural came to mean the seat of feeling (Chamfort, before 1794), and the singular la fibre a person's sensibility or deep leaning: la fibre champêtre (1816), la fibre patriotique.[3][9][8] Derivatives include fibreux (1545), fibrille (1674) and fibrome (1856).[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1372 – In Corbichon's translation.[2]
  • 1545 – Racine fibreuse.[3]
  • 1580 – Fibres nerveuses in Paré.[2]
  • Before 1794 – The seat of feeling, in Chamfort.[8]
  • 1816 – Je n'ai pas la fibre champêtre.[9]
  • 1856 – Fibrome.[3]
  • 1930 – Fibre de bois.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A fiber, a thread-like element of animal or plant tissue: fibre musculaire, les fibres du bois.[7][10]
  2. A textile fibre, natural or synthetic.[7]
  3. A manufactured fibre: fibre de verre, fibre optique.[3][8]
  4. (in the plural) Dietary fibre: fibres alimentaires.[7][10]
  5. (figurative) Sensibility; a deep leaning or feeling: la fibre paternelle, avoir la fibre commerciale.[8][9]

Word family

  • fibreux
  • fibrille
  • fibrine
  • fibrome
  • fibranne
  • fibroscopie
  • Latin fibra
  • English fibre

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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, 490a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Fibre.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/fibre. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·