Etymologically
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gueule

Etymology and origin of the French word gueule

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (gola)
Inherited from
Latin gula via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (gula)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin gula
French gueule

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡœl/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ɡœl][1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ɡøl][1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [d͡ʒœl][1]

Forms

gueule f (plural gueules)[1] Old French gola (late 10th century), gole (about 1135), goule (about 1175); gueule from the 13th century, goule survives in dialects.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French goule, inherited from Latin gula (“gullet, throat; palate, mouth; gluttony”).[5][2][6][7][1] Rey connects “gula” with Indo-European roots “*gʷel-”, “*gʷer-” “to swallow”, probably onomatopoeic; the Petit Robert relates it to gluttiō (“to swallow”) and German Kehle (“throat”).[2][8] It is a doublet of goulet.[1]

Cognate with Italian gola, Catalan gola, Spanish gola and Romanian gură (“mouth”).[9][8] Bloch and Wartburg explain the heraldic gueules “red” as the same word, from strips of fur cut from an animal's throat, and not, as long believed, from Persian گل (gul, “rose”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) gola is the throat, the gullet; about 1135 os de la gole is the cervical vertebrae.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Roman de Renart (1174–77) it is the mouth as the organ of shouting, s'escrie a plaine goule, and in Chrétien de Troyes (1176–81) an animal's mouth.[5] In the 13th century it meant gluttony, whence fine gueule “gourmet” (1847).[5][2] Chrétien also uses it for a gaping opening (1176), as in la gueule d'un canon.[5][2] About 1600 it came to mean the face, always familiar: la gueule enfarinée, une sale gueule (1888–1903), gueule cassée “disfigured veteran”, gueules noires “coal miners” (1894).[5][2][10] Phrases include fort en gueule (1656), tais ta gueule (1747), casser la gueule à quelqu'un (1764), coup de gueule (1891), gueule de bois “hangover” (1902) and avoir de la gueule “to look great” (early 20th century).[2][3]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Gola “throat”, Passion de Clermont.[5]
  • 1174–77 – The mouth that shouts, Roman de Renart.[5]
  • 1176–81 – An animal's mouth, Chrétien de Troyes.[5]
  • 13th century – “Gluttony”.[5]
  • Late 16th–early 17th century – “Face”.[5]
  • 1648 – Gueuler.[6]
  • 1764 – Casser la gueule.[2]
  • 1902 – Gueule de bois.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The mouth of an animal, especially a carnivore: la gueule du loup, se jeter dans la gueule du loup.[8][1]
  2. (familiar) The mouth: ta gueule!, shut up!, une grande gueule, a loudmouth, coup de gueule, an outburst.[8][1]
  3. (familiar) The face, mug: une sale gueule, faire la gueule, to sulk, casser la gueule à quelqu'un.[1][11]
  4. (familiar) Appearance, look: avoir de la gueule, to look great.[11][2]
  5. (familiar) Food, eating: une fine gueule, a gourmet.[11][2]
  6. An opening: la gueule d'un four, d'un canon.[11][5]
  7. Gueule de bois: a hangover.[1][2]

Word family

  • gueuler
  • gueulard
  • gueuleton
  • engueuler
  • engueulade
  • dégueuler
  • dégueulasse
  • amuse-gueule
  • bégueule
  • goulet
  • goulot
  • goulu
  • gueules
  • glouton
  • Latin gula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Gueule.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/gueule. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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