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fumier

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Etymology and origin of the French word fumier

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1160–1174 Wace, Roman de Rou More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin *femarium via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin fimus

Pronunciation

Forms

fumier m (plural fumiers)[1] Old French femier;[2][3][4] fumier from about 1175, in Chrétien de Troyes.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French femier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *femārium (“dung heap”), from *femus (“dung”), an alteration of Latin fimus under the influence of the neuter stercus (“excrement, dung”).[5][6][1][7] The vowel became ⟨u⟩ already in the 12th century, as in the verb femer “to manure”;[6][8] the GLLF thinks this was perhaps under the influence of fumer1 “to smoke”.[2][1] The neuter form gave the Old French fiens “dung”, used until the 16th century and still found in many northern dialects.[5][6][3]

The word is found only in French;[6] other languages use Italian letame and Spanish estiércol.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174) has femiers, dung or a dung heap.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word names the mix of animal litter and droppings used as manure, and by extension any refuse that can serve as fertilizer (1690); by metonymy it is also a dung heap.[3][2] Metaphorically it stands for poverty, as in le fumier de Job (1690), and for filth and moral corruption.[3][2] It has been a common insult since 1881, and an adjective meaning “vile” since 1904.[3]

Timeline

  • 1160–1174 – Femiers in Wace's Roman de Rou.[5]
  • c. 1175 – The form fumier in Chrétien de Troyes.[2][3]
  • 16th century – Old French fiens goes out of standard use.[6][3]
  • 1690 – Être comme Job sur son fumier is recorded by Furetière.[2][3]
  • 1881 – First use as an insult.[3]
  • 1904 – Used as an adjective “vile”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. manure, dung: the litter of farm animals mixed with their droppings and left to rot, used as fertilizer: fumier de cheval.[9][10][1]
  2. A dung heap.[3][5]
  3. (figurative) Something dirty or corrupt.[9][3]
  4. (familiar, offensive) A contemptible person, a bastard.[10][9][1]

Word family

  • fumière

Usage notes

Être comme Job sur son fumier refers to the destitution of Job.[2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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 d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 542a
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Fumier.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/fumier. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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