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foule

Etymology and origin of the French word foule

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1172, Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain
Ultimate origin
Latin (fullō)

Pronunciation

Forms

foule f (plural foules)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from fouler “to press, tread”, at first “the place where one is pressed, jostled”, then “a mass of people pressing together”.[2][3][4][5][6] presse went the same way from presser.[5][3] That verb comes from Vulgar Latin *fullō (“to full cloth”), formed on Latin fullō (“fuller”).[3][5][7] Wiktionary instead derives the crowd sense from Old French foulc (“people, multitude”), from Frankish *folc (“people”), altered under the influence of the noun meaning “treading”.[1]

Cognate with Italian folla, Old Occitan fola and Portuguese fula.[5][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes's Yvain (1172) uses it for a multitude of people pressing together.[2][3] The Roman de la Rose has Quant entrée estes dans la foule, Où chascun vous hurte et defoule… “when you have entered the crowd, where everyone shoves and tramples you”.[8]

Semantic evolution

In Middle French it also meant oppression, an exaction (ceste foule, La Noue).[8][1] Racine (1670) has la foule for the common run of people, as opposed to an elite.[2][10] Robert Estienne (1538) records une foule de “a great number of”, also applied to things.[10][4] In the 19th century la foule became a subject of sociology, a group with a collective psychology (psychologie des foules).[2][10] Modern phrases are en foule “in crowds”, il y a foule and bain de foule “walkabout”.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1172 – A crowd, Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • c. 1265 – Foule “action of treading”.[3]
  • 1538 – Une foule de, Robert Estienne.[10]
  • 1670 – “The common people”, Racine.[2]
  • 1690 – The fulling of cloth, Furetière.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A crowd, a throng of people: se perdre dans la foule, un mouvement de foule, il y a foule, it is crowded.[6][1]
  2. La foule: the masses, the common people, as opposed to an elite.[2][6]
  3. Une foule de: a great number of, a host of: une foule de questions.[2][1]
  4. En foule: in great numbers.[2]
  5. Bain de foule: a walkabout.[1][6]
  • fouler
  • foulée
  • foulon
  • refouler

Usage notes

The Grand Robert and the TLFi give a separate numbered entry to the technical foule “fulling” (of cloth or felt, 1690), now used in weaving for the pressure of the weaver's foot on the treadles.[4][2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 844b
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Foule.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/foule. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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