100–1 BC

French words from Latin words first recorded in the 1st century BC

55 French words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 1st century BC, earliest Latin record first.

chier
100 BC–80 BC

from Latin caco

It is inherited from Old French chier, inherited from Latin cacō (“to defecate”). The regional and less coarse verbs caquer and caguer (the latter through Old Occitan cagar) come from the same Latin…
couteau
100 BC

from Latin cultellus

It is inherited from Old French coltel, inherited from Latin cultellus (“small knife”), the diminutive of culter (“knife; ploughshare”), which itself gave coutre “coulter”. The diminutive was the…
poil
100 BC–80 BC

from Latin pilus

It is inherited from Old French peil, inherited from Latin pilus (“a hair; figuratively, a trifle”), which named a single hair, as opposed to the collective capillus (see cheveu), and with a…
rejeter
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin reiecto

It is inherited from Old French regeter, inherited from Latin rēiectō (“to throw back; to repel; to vomit”), a frequentative from the supine of reiciō (“to throw back”), derived according to the…
secouer
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin succutio

It is inherited from Old French secorre (“to shake”), remade after its present forms with ⟨ou⟩ (nous secouons, vous secouez, ils secouent). The Old French verb is inherited from Latin succutiō (“to…
verre
96 BC–55 BC

from Latin vitrum

It is inherited from Old French voirre, inherited from Latin vitrum (“glass; woad”). The regular outcome in central French was “voir(r)e”, “verre” was remade after its derivatives, or arose from the…
château
90 BC–67 BC

from Latin castellum

It is inherited from Old French chastel, inherited from Latin castellum (“redoubt; water tower; in Medieval Latin, citadel, fortified town”), a diminutive of castrum (“fortified place, camp”). Rey…
étrange
90 BC–80 BC

from Latin extraneus

It is inherited from Old French estrange, inherited from Latin extrāneus (“external; foreign”), a derivative of extrā (“outside”). Bloch and Wartburg compare the sound development of lange and…
angoisse
86 BC–82 BC

from Latin angustia

It is inherited from Old French anguisse, inherited from Latin angustia (“narrowness; narrow place; distress”), derived from angustus (“narrow”), from angō (“to squeeze, choke”). In classical Latin…
enfance
86 BC–82 BC

from Latin infantia

It is inherited from Latin īnfantia (“early childhood; children; inability to speak”), from īnfāns (“not speaking; child”), the source of enfant. The TLFi describes it as taken from classical Latin…
hôtel
84 BC–25 BC

from Latin hospitale

It is inherited from Old French ostel, inherited from Late Latin hospitāle (“guest room; inn”) (from “hospitale cubiculum”), the neuter of hospitālis (“of a guest”), used as a noun, from hospes…
baiser
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin basio

It is inherited from Old French baisier, inherited from Latin bāsiō (“to kiss”), from bāsium (“a kiss”). “Bāsium” was at first an erotic word, used beside ōsculum and avoided by classical writers…
brûler
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin ustulo

It is inherited from Old French bruller, of uncertain origin. Its second part is generally taken from Old French usler (“to scorch”), inherited from Latin ustulō (“to scorch, singe”), from ūrō (“to…
châsse
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin capsa

It is inherited from Old French chasse, inherited from Latin capsa (“box, case”), which had the sense “reliquary” in Medieval Latin (about 720) and “coffin” in ecclesiastical Latin. The Petit Robert…
con
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin cunnus

It is inherited from Latin cunnus (“female genitals”), a word found in the satirists and in graffiti. Rey calls its origin obscure and compares Ancient Greek κύσθος (kústhos) and Persian کون (kun)…
endormir
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin indormio

It is inherited from Latin indormīre (“to sleep on; to be careless”), which in Late Latin also meant “to go numb” (of a limb); the Latin verb is formed from in- and dormiō (“to sleep”) (see dormir)…
foutre
81 BC–50 BC

from Latin futuo

It is inherited from Old French fotre, inherited from Latin futuō (“to have sex with (a woman)”). Rey calls the Latin verb of unknown origin, Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to…
moitié
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin medietas

It is inherited from Old French meitié, inherited from Latin medietās (“middle, centre, (late) half”), from its accusative “medietātem”. The Latin noun was formed from medius (“middle”) (see mi-)…
monnaie
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin moneta

It is inherited from Old French monoie, inherited from Latin monēta (“mint; coined money”). Monēta was first a surname of Juno, Juno Moneta, and coins were struck in or beside her temple on the…
moyen
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin medianus

It is inherited from Old French meien, inherited from Latin mediānus (“of the middle”), an imperial Latin derivative of medius (“middle”). The Petit Robert traces “medius” to the Indo-European root…
payer
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin paco

It is inherited from Old French paier, inherited from Latin pācō (“to pacify, make peace”), derived from pāx (“peace”) (see paix). In Late Latin, from the 4th century, the verb took the moral sense…
près
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin presse

It continues inherited from Latin pressē (“closely, tightly; concisely”), an adverb formed on pressus (“pressed, tight”), the past participle of premō (“to press”) (see presser). In classical Latin…
reconnaître
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin recognosco

It is inherited from Old French reconoistre, inherited from Latin recognōscō (“to recall; to review, inspect; to revise”), which developed in parallel with the simple verb connaître. It is formed…
relever
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin relevo

It is inherited from Latin relevō (“to lift up; to relieve, ease”), from re- and levō (“to lighten, raise”). The Grand Robert analyses it as from French re- + lever, and Rey thinks both a French…
revenir
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin revenio

It is inherited from Old French revenir, inherited from Latin reveniō (“to come back, return”), formed with re- from veniō (“to come”) (see venir). Rey treats it as a very early borrowing from…
seigneur
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin senior

It is inherited from Old French seignor, inherited from Latin seniōrem (“older; an elder”), the accusative of “senior”, comparative of senex (“old”). Already in the 1st century “senior” was a term…
sûr
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin securus

It is inherited from Old French seür, inherited from Latin sēcūrus (“free from care; safe”), formed from the archaic particle sē- (“without”) and cūra (“care, worry”), the source of cure. The…
tante
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin amita

It is an alteration, inherited from Old French ante, inherited from Latin amita (“father's sister”). The origin of the ⟨t⟩ is disputed. The TLFi, Bloch–Wartburg and Rey see a nursery form, with the…
tourner
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin torno

It is inherited from Old French torner, inherited from Latin tornō (“to shape on a lathe; to round off”), derived from tornus (“lathe”) (see tour), borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos…
tuer
81 BC–43 BC

from Latin tutor

It is inherited from Old French tuer (“to kill; to put out”), inherited from Latin tūtor (“to protect, guard; to ward off”), in its popular form “tūtāre”, a frequentative of tueor (“to look at; to…
beurre
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin butyrum

It is inherited from Old French burre, inherited from Latin būtyrum, borrowed from Ancient Greek βούτυρον (boúturon, “butter; ointment”), literally “cow cheese”, from βοῦς (boûs, “cow”) and τυρός…
chambre
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin camera

It is inherited from Old French chambre, inherited from Latin camera (“vaulted roof; room”), borrowed from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vault; covered place”), a technical word of obscure origin…
chapiteau
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin capitellum

It is inherited from Old French chapitel, inherited from Late Latin capitellum, a diminutive of Latin caput (“head; top”) used in Late Latin as a term of architecture for the widened top of a…
ciel
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin caelum

It is inherited from Latin caelum (“vault of the sky; abode of the gods; vault, ceiling”), written “celum” and “coelum” in Late Latin. The origin of the Latin word is uncertain: it has been linked…
coupe
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin cuppa

1. The cup is inherited from Old French cupe, inherited from Late Latin cuppa (“cup”), a variant of Latin cūpa (“large wooden vessel, cask”) that took the sense “cup” in late Latin. It is a doublet…
finir
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin finio

It is inherited from Old French fenir, inherited from Latin fīniō (“to limit, bound; to finish”), from fīnis (“boundary, end”). The Old French form “fenir” arose by dissimilation of the two “i”…
mal
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin malus

It continues inherited from Latin malus (“bad, harmful, wicked”) and the corresponding adverb male (“badly”), which both gave “mal”. The origin of the noun is disputed: the Grand Robert derives it…
marier
80 BC–27 BC

from Latin marito

It is inherited from Latin marītō (“to give in marriage; to wed a vine to a tree”), a verb of the Imperial period, from marītus (“husband”) (whence mari). Cognate with Romanian mărita, Italian…
lier
65 BC–54 BC

from Latin ligo

It is inherited from Old French lïer, inherited from Latin ligō (“to tie, bind, bandage, fasten, unite”). The regular outcomes of the Latin forms were leier and loier, with a stressed stem loie…
merde
65 BC–8 BC

from Latin merda

It is inherited from Old French merde, inherited from Latin merda (“dung, excrement”), a word of vulgar speech with no sure etymology. Rey mentions Baltic and Slavic verbs of similar form meaning…
nourrir
65 BC–54 BC

from Latin nutrio

It is inherited from Old French norrir, inherited from Latin nūtriō (“to suckle; to feed, nourish; to sustain”), a verb mostly of the imperial period, beside the older nūtricō (“to suckle”), which…
dépit
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin despectus

It is inherited from Old French despit, inherited from Latin dēspectus (“a looking down; contempt”), the action noun of Latin dēspiciō (“to look down on, despise”), formed from dē- and speciō (“to…
laisser
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin laxo

It is inherited from Old French laissier, inherited from Latin laxō (“to loosen, slacken; to release; to leave”), from laxus (“loose, slack”). Besides “to loosen, release”, the Latin verb meant “to…
plaindre
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin plango

It is inherited from Old French plaindre, inherited from Latin plangō (“to strike; to beat one's breast in grief; to lament”). The Latin verb first meant “to strike”, then “to beat one's breast or…
saison
60 BC–55 BC

from Latin satio

It is inherited from Old French seison, inherited from Latin satiō (“sowing; sowing time; seed”), in its accusative form. The Latin noun is derived from satum, supine of serō (“to sow, plant”), from…
mesure
58 BC–44 BC

from Latin mensura

It is inherited from Latin mēnsūra (“measuring; measure, size; degree; standard”), from mēnsum, supine of mētior (“to measure”). Rey connects “mētior” with Ancient Greek μῆτις (mêtis, “cunning…
lien
57 BC–12 BC

from Latin ligamen

It is inherited from Old French lien, inherited from Latin ligāmen (“band, tie, cord”), from ligō (“to bind, tie”). The regular Old French outcomes of the Latin noun were leien and loien, which…
souvent
50 BC

from Latin subinde

It is inherited from Old French sovent, inherited from Latin subinde (“immediately after; repeatedly; often”), formed from sub- and inde (“from there; from then”). Classical Latin saepe (“often”)…
peser
44 BC–35 BC

from Latin penso

It is inherited from Old French peser, inherited from Latin pēnsō (“to weigh; to judge”), through the popular form without /n/, an intensive of pendō (“to weigh; to hang”). The same Latin verb, with…
trait
44 BC–35 BC

from Latin tractus

It is inherited from Old French trait, inherited from Latin tractus (“a drawing, pulling; a trail, line; slow movement; extent of time”), the action noun of trahō (“to draw, pull”) (see traire). The…
chaire
35 BC–13 BC

from Latin cathedra

It is inherited from Old French chaere, by regular sound change inherited from Latin cathedra (“chair with a back”), borrowed from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “seat; teacher's chair; throne”)…
chaise
35 BC–13 BC

from Latin cathedra

It is a dialect variant: inherited from Middle French chaire, inherited from Latin cathedra (“seat, armchair”), borrowed from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra). The /r/ between vowels became /z/ in…
demander
27 BC–17

from Latin demando

It is inherited from Old French demander, inherited from Latin dēmandō (“to entrust, charge with; to order”), formed with dē- from mandō (“to give in charge, entrust”). In Late Latin it also meant…
étroit
16 BC–17

from Latin strictus

It is inherited from Old French estreit, inherited from Latin strictus (“drawn tight, narrow; concise; strict”), the past participle of stringō (“to draw tight”). The form with ⟨oi⟩ replaced the…
matin
4 BC–65

from Latin matutinum

It is inherited from Latin mātūtīnum, the neuter of the adjective mātūtīnus (“of the morning”) used as a noun, short for “mātūtīnum tempus” “morning time”. The adjective is derived from Mātūta, an…

All French words inherited from Latin, by century →