Etymologically
Log in

gîte

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word gîte

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1176–1181 Chrétien de Troyes, Le Chevalier au lion More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin iaceō

Pronunciation

Forms

gîte m (plural gîtes)[1] Old French giste; the spellings gite and gîte appear in the 14th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French giste, the old past participle of the verb gésir “to lie” used as a noun.[4][5][3][6] The verb is from Old French gesir, from Latin iaceō (“to lie”).[1][6] Littré compares Walloon gîse and the Medieval Latin gistum.[7]

The feminine nautical noun, “list of a ship”, is the same word, according to the TLFi;[4] Rey explains it by the ship that “lies down”.[5] The Grand Robert treats both under one headword, masculine and feminine.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as giste in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au lion (1176–1181), meaning a place where one can find a bed and lodging.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

From a place to sleep, the word passed to the place where wild animals shelter (about 1354, in the Modus), and in 1552 especially to the form of a hare.[2][5] By extension it was applied to things lying in a hidden or buried place: the lower part of a leg of beef (1393, in the Ménagier de Paris), and a deposit of ore (1811), the latter sense linked with gisement.[5][4] Froissart used it for a beam on which the planks of a bridge rest.[4][2]

The phrase gîte d'étape is recorded in 1866 and gîte rural, a rented country cottage, in 1965.[5][2] In Africa gîte is used of private or hotel lodging in the bush or in a nature reserve.[5]

As a feminine nautical term, gîte first named the bed into which a stranded ship has sunk (1859), then (1901) the sideways list of a ship.[5][4]

Timeline

  • 1176–1181 – Giste “lodging” appears in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au lion.[4]
  • c. 1354 – The Modus uses it of the shelter of game.[2][5]
  • 1393 – The Ménagier de Paris uses it for a cut of beef.[4][5]
  • Late 14th century – Froissart uses it for a beam supporting a bridge.[4]
  • 1552 – Robert Estienne applies it to the form of a hare.[2][5]
  • 1811 – Mozin records it in mining, a deposit of ore.[4]
  • 1838 – The Académie records gîte à la noix.[2][5]
  • 1859 – The feminine nautical sense, the bed of a stranded ship, is recorded by Bonnefoux and Paris.[4]
  • 1866 – Littré records gîte d'étape.[2]
  • 1901 – The Nouveau Larousse illustré records the sense “list of a ship”.[4]
  • 1965 – Gîte rural appears.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (masculine) A place where one can stay or sleep, a lodging or shelter: le gîte et le couvert “board and lodging”.[8][4]
  2. (masculine) Gîte rural: a holiday cottage in the country let to paying guests, also gîte d'étape for walkers.[8]
  3. (masculine) The place where game shelters, especially the form of a hare.[8][4]
  4. (masculine, mining) A deposit of ore.[8][4]
  5. (masculine) The lower part of the leg of beef, shin, as sold by butchers: gîte à la noix.[8][1]
  6. (feminine, nautical) The sideways list of a ship: donner de la gîte.[8][4]
  7. (feminine, nautical) The bed into which a stranded ship has sunk.[8][4]

Word family

  • gîter
  • gîtologie

Usage notes

The TLFi gives the masculine and the feminine as two headwords, but calls the feminine the same word;[4] the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert treat them as one word of both genders.[3][8] The sense “bed of a stranded ship” is found in the general dictionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries, but not in the specialised nautical ones after 1859.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 2b
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Gîte.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/g%C3%AEte. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·