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fuselage

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Etymology and origin of the French word fuselage

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1908 Larousse mensuel More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origin
Latin fusus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French fuselage
English fuselage

Pronunciation

Forms

fuselage m (plural fuselages)[1]

Etymology

The TLFi derives it from French fuseler + -age, the verb meaning “to give the shape of a spindle”.[2][1] The Petit Robert and the Grand Robert take it from fuselé “spindle-shaped” or from fuseau in the phrase ⟨fuseau moteur⟩, and the GLLF from the adjective alone.[3][4][5] Rey notes that it does not seem ever to have been an action noun.[6]

The verb (1838) was made after the adjective (about 1393), a derivative of Old French fusel, the old form of the noun “spindle”.[2][6] The FEW places the family under Latin fūsus (“spindle”).[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in December 1908, in the article aviation of the Larousse mensuel, as an aviation term.[2][3] It named the spindle-shaped part of the aeroplane's body.[6]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its aviation sense, the body of an aeroplane or glider to which the wings are fixed.[2][3] Proust used it, rarely and in a literary way, for any spindle-shaped form (1921), speaking of “le fuselage de ses longues mains expressives”.[2][5] English borrowed it as fuselage in 1909, the name coming from its shape.[8]

Timeline

  • 1908 – The Larousse mensuel records it as an aviation term.[2][3][6]
  • 1909 – English fuselage is recorded.[8]
  • 1921 – Proust uses it for a spindle-shaped form.[2]
  • 1922 – Larousse records the aviation sense, the GLLF's first date for it.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (aviation) The body of an aeroplane or glider, to which the wings are fixed, usually holding the cabin.[3][9][2]
  2. (rare, literary) A spindle-shaped form.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique 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, 921b
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Fuselage.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/fuselage. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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