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goupil

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Etymology and origin of the French word goupil

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1121–1134 Philippe de Thaon, Bestiaire More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin vulpiculus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin vulpēs

Pronunciation

Forms

goupil m (plural goupils)[1] Old French goupieu (11th century), gupil, gulpil, golpil, vorpil and volpil.[2][3][1] Anglo-Norman also wrote gopil, gorpil and gupiz.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French gupil, inherited from Late Latin vulpiculus, an alteration of Latin vulpēcula (“little fox”), the diminutive of vulpēs (“fox”).[5][6][2] Rey calls the Latin noun a word of unknown origin.[2] The initial /g/ is due to Germanic influence;[2][3][7] Wiktionary names the Frankish word *wulf (“wolf”) as the most likely model.[1] The Old French forms vorpil and volpil kept the Latin /v/.[2]

Cognate with Old Italian volpiglio, Occitan volpìlh, Catalan volpell, Portuguese golpelha and Spanish vulpeja.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134) has gupil for the fox.[5]

Semantic evolution

Goupil was the ordinary Old French word for the fox until the name of Renart, the fox of the Roman de Renart, became a common noun and pushed it out from the 13th century on.[8][2][3] Wiktionary sees this replacement as a euphemism.[1] The old word lived on as a literary archaism, kept alive by the Roman de Renart and by Louis Pergaud's novel De Goupil à Margot (1910).[5][2]

Its feminine became the technical noun goupille “pin, peg” (1439), in the way that renard too has technical senses.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1121–1134 – Gupil appears in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire.[5]
  • c. 1155 – The form gulpil is recorded.[2]
  • c. 1175 – The form vorpil is recorded.[2]
  • 13th century – The form goupil is reached, in the Roman de Renart.[2][8]
  • 1439 – The feminine goupille is used for a pin.[2][5]
  • 1910 – Louis Pergaud publishes De Goupil à Margot.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (archaic, literary) A fox.[7][9][5]

Word family

  • goupille

Usage notes

The word survives only in archaizing texts;[8][5] Goupil is also used as a proper name for the fox.[8][5]

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 m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 644b
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Goupil.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/goupil. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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