200–101 BC

French words from Latin words first recorded in the 2nd century BC

26 French words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 2nd century BC, earliest Latin record first.

chou
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin caulis

It is inherited from Old French chol, inherited from Latin caulis (“stem; cabbage”), which also named stem-shaped objects. Rey relates it to Ancient Greek καυλός (kaulós, “stem”), which Wiktionary…
gros
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin grossus

It is inherited from Old French gros, inherited from Late Latin grossus (“thick, coarse”), a popular word of imperial and Christian Latin, also “rough, coarse”. Bloch and Wartburg note that it…
nouveau
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin novellus

It is inherited from Old French novel, inherited from Latin novellus (“young, new, recent”), a diminutive of novus (“new”), the source of neuf. Rey notes that “novellus” was first a rural word for…
parfait
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin perfectus

It continues inherited from Latin perfectus (“finished, complete, perfect”), the past participle used as an adjective of perficiō (“to finish, complete”), from per- and faciō (“to make”). The Latin…
tête
195 BC–149 BC

from Latin testa

It is inherited from Old French teste, inherited from Latin testa (“earthenware vessel; tile; shell”). In Late Latin the word took, jokingly, the sense “skull” and then “head”, a shift by likeness…
maison
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin mansio

It is inherited from Old French maisun, inherited from Latin mānsiō (“stay; lodging, stopping place”) (accusative “mānsiōnem”), from maneō (“to remain, stay”), whence also manoir. In imperial Latin…
sein
190 BC–159 BC

from Latin sinus

It is inherited from Old French sein, inherited from Latin sinus (“curve, fold; fold of the toga across the chest; bosom; bay”). The fold of the toga, gathered over the shoulder, was where women…
manger
180 BC–102 BC

from Latin manduco

It is inherited from Old French mangier, inherited from Latin mandūcō (“to chew; to eat”). The Latin verb was formed on mandūcus, the glutton of Roman comedy from Plautus onward, with huge jaws…
attendre
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin attendo

It is inherited from Old French atendre, inherited from Latin attendō (“to stretch towards; to pay attention to”), formed with ad- from tendō (“to stretch”). Rey treats it as a borrowing from Latin…
chez
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin casa

It is inherited from Old French chiés, inherited from Latin casa (“house, hut”), with an irregular final that the TLFi and Rey explain by the word's unstressed position before a noun. The FEW also…
cousin
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin consobrinus

1. The relative is inherited from Old French cosin, inherited from Latin cōnsobrīnus (“first cousin on the mother's side; first cousin”), through a shortened form *cosīnus, probably from children's…
désirer
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin desidero

It is inherited from Latin dēsīderō (“to miss, feel the lack of; to long for”), reduced in sound. The Latin verb is formed with the privative dē- on sīdus (“star, constellation”) (whence sidéral)…
fermer
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin firmo

It is inherited from Latin firmō (“to make firm, strengthen; to confirm”), derived from firmus (“firm, strong”). The shift to “to close” may have begun in Late Latin, where “firmare” and…
poing
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin pugnus

It is inherited from Old French poing, inherited from Latin pugnus (“fist; handful”). Rey thinks the Latin word may belong to an Indo-European root also seen in pungō (“to prick”) (see poindre)…
point
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin punctum

It is inherited from Old French point, inherited from Latin pūnctum (“a prick; a dot; a point”), the neuter of the past participle of pungō (“to prick”) (see poindre) used as a noun. In Latin…
prêter
166 BC–160 BC

from Latin praesto

It is inherited from Old French prester, inherited from Latin praestō (“to make available, provide; to guarantee”). In late Latin the verb often stood for “dare” “to give” and took the sense of…
chandelle
146 BC

from Latin candela

It is inherited from Old French chandeile, inherited from Latin candēla (“candle”), from Latin candēre (“to shine, glow”) (compare candeur, candide, incendie). In the 13th century the endings…
cercle
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin circulus

It is inherited from Latin circulus (“circle; ring; hoop”), a diminutive of circus (“circle; circus”) that partly took over its senses. The Latin word already had most of the French senses: a…
tour
140 BC–86 BC

from Latin turris

1. The tower is inherited from Old French tur, inherited from Latin turris (“tower; siege tower; house of several storeys”), accusative “turrem”. The Latin word is generally held to be borrowed from…
court
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin curtus

1. The adjective “short” is inherited from Old French curt, inherited from Latin curtus (“shortened, docked; incomplete, insufficient”). Rey traces “curtus” to the Indo-European root “*(s)ker-” “to…
dire
131 BC–103 BC

from Latin dico

It is inherited from Old French dire, inherited from Latin dīcō (“to say, speak; to name; to plead”). The Latin verb contains the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show”), seen in…
rue
129 BC–69 BC

from Latin ruga

1. The street is inherited from Old French rue, inherited from Latin rūga (“wrinkle”), which in Late and popular Latin took by metaphor the sense “path, road lined with houses”. The sense “wrinkle”…
cerveau
119 BC–79 BC

from Latin cerebellum

It is inherited from Old French cervel, inherited from Latin cerebellum (“small brain”), a diminutive of cerebrum (“brain”) (see cérébral). The Latin neuter plural, taken for a feminine singular…
époux
119 BC–79 BC

from Latin sponsus

It is inherited from Old French espus, inherited from Latin spōnsus (“betrothed man, bridegroom”), the past participle of spondeō (“to promise solemnly”), used as a noun; the feminine is from…
prison
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin prehensio

It is inherited from Old French prisun, inherited from Latin prehēnsiōnem (“a seizing; arrest”), from prehendō (“to seize”) (see prendre). The word went through a contracted popular form…
rouge
116 BC–27 BC

from Latin rubeus

It is inherited from Old French roge, inherited from Latin rubeus (“reddish, ruddy”), derived from rubeō (“to be red”). “Rubeus” displaced the old word ruber (“red”) in the Romance languages. The…

All French words inherited from Latin, by century →