Etymologically
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gourmet

Etymology and origin of the French word gourmet

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1330, Guillaume de Digulleville
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French gourmet
English gourmet

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡuʁ.mɛ/[1]

Forms

gourmet m (plural gourmets)[1] Groumete (feminine, about 1330), groumet (1392), gourmet (1402, by metathesis).[2][3]

Etymology

It comes from Old French grommes (“valet”) (1352),[2][3][4][5] which the TLFi and Bloch and Wartburg take from English “grom” “boy” (1225), then “servant” (1297) (see groom); the form “gourmet” prevailed by attraction of other words in “gourm-”, and the sense was influenced by gourmand.[2][3][4] Guiraud's derivation from a root “*gourm-” “throat” (see gourme), through a Gallo-Roman “*culmus” “pipette for tasting”, does not account for the early forms in “grou-”.[3][5] Compare Spanish grumete, Catalan grumet and Old Gascon “gormet” “ship's boy”.[1][4] Littré rejected Diez's “grumo”, Scheler's “gourme” and Grandgagnage's Dutch “geur” “smell”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume de Digulleville (about 1330) has the feminine groumete, figuratively a wine broker; in 1392 a groumet was a valet who conveyed wines (un groumet nommé Fagot qui conduisoit iceux vins).[2][6]

Semantic evolution

By extension Arnoul Gréban (1458) used it for someone who tastes wine and knows how to judge it, a good drinker, and Robert Estienne (1549) for a wine broker, a sense kept in some regions.[2][3][7] Probably through assimilation to gourmand, it took its modern sense shortly before 1757 (Jaucourt in the Encyclopédie): a person who appreciates fine food.[2][3] Balzac (before 1850) has les gourmets de la littérature.[7][8] English gourmet was borrowed in 1820.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1330 – Groumete in Digulleville.[2]
  • 1352 – Grommes “valet”.[2]
  • 1392 – Groumet “valet in charge of wines”.[2]
  • 1402 – Gourmet.[2]
  • 1458 – A wine taster, in Gréban.[2]
  • Before 1757 – A connoisseur of food, in Jaucourt.[2]
  • 1820 – English gourmet.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A gourmet, connoisseur of food and wine: un fin gourmet.[8][10]
  2. (figurative) A connoisseur: les gourmets de la littérature.[8][7]
  3. (dated) A wine taster, (regional) a wine broker.[8][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Gourmet.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/gourmet. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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