300–201 BC

French words from Latin words first recorded in the 3rd century BC

288 French words inherited from a Latin word whose earliest known written record dates from the 3rd century BC, earliest Latin record first (page 5).

siècle
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin saeculum

It is inherited from Old French siecle, earlier “secle”, a form remade after Latin of the popular “seule” (881), inherited from Latin saeculum (“generation; age; century; in Church Latin, the…
soir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sero

It is inherited from Old French seir, inherited from Latin sērō (“late, too late”), an adverb formed from sērus (“late”). Old Occitan had both ser (about 1135), from “sērō”, and “sera” (about 1160)…
sonner
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sono

It is inherited from Old French soner, inherited from Latin sonō (“to sound, resound; to utter; to mean”), from sonus (“sound”) (see son). Cognate with Romanian suna, Italian sonare, Occitan sonar…
sort
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin sors

It is inherited from Latin sors (“lot; drawing of lots; oracle; destiny; share”), through its accusative; the Latin word named a small wooden tablet used to answer questions put to oracles or to…
sou
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin solidus

It is inherited from Old French sol, inherited from Late Latin solidus (“gold coin”) (early 5th century), also in the form soldus, the noun use of the classical adjective Latin solidus (“solid…
soupirer
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin suspiro

It is inherited from Old French suspirer, inherited from Latin suspīrō (“to breathe deeply, sigh; to say with a sigh”). The Old French form was altered after other words beginning with ⟨sou-⟩. The…
table
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tabula

It is inherited from Old French table, inherited from Latin tabula (“plank; writing tablet; table”), a word of uncertain origin, probably borrowed. Latin “tabula” meant a board, especially for…
tel
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin talis

It is inherited from Latin tālis (“of such a kind, such”), a demonstrative of quality used in correlation with quālis (see quel). Rey notes that “tālis” contains the Indo-European demonstrative stem…
temps
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tempus

It is inherited from Old French tens, inherited from Latin tempus (“time; period, moment; the right moment; weather”) (genitive “temporis”). Latin “tempus” was a portion of time, as opposed to…
tendre
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tendo

1. The verb is inherited from Latin tendō (“to stretch, spread; to set (traps); to make for; to aim at; to pitch a tent”). Cognate with Italian tendere, Old Occitan tendre and Spanish tender. 2. The…
toile
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tela

It is inherited from Old French teile, inherited from Latin tēla (“cloth on the loom; warp; web; plot”), from an older *texla, from texō (“to weave”) (see tisser). Cognate with Italian tela, Old…
toit
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin tectum

It is inherited from Old French teit, inherited from Latin tēctum (“roof; shelter, house”), the neuter past participle of tegō (“to cover, protect”) used as a noun. The Latin verb belongs to the…
usine
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin officina

It is a word of the dialects of the north and east of France, inherited from Old French wisine, inherited from Latin officīna (“workshop, factory”), with a sound development of its own in those…
vain
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vanus

It is inherited from Old French vain, inherited from Latin vānus (“empty; hollow, without substance; vain”). Rey places the Latin word in an Indo-European family of words beginning with /w/ that…
veille
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vigilia

It is inherited from Latin vigilia (“wakefulness; night watch”), the Roman night being divided into four such watches. The TLFi derives it from vigil (“awake, watchful; watchman”), Rey from vigeō…
ventre
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin venter

It is inherited from Latin venter (“belly; womb; bulge”), from its accusative “ventrem”. The Latin word was the general term for the belly as the seat of the entrails or of the foetus, and by…
vers
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin versus

1. The preposition is inherited from Latin versus (“turned towards; in the direction of”) (variant “versum”), the past participle of vertō (“to turn”), used in classical Latin as an adverbial…
vigne
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vinea

It is inherited from Old French vigne, inherited from Latin vīnea (“vineyard; vine”), the feminine used as a noun of vīneus (“of wine”), from Latin vīnum (“wine”) (see vin). In Latin “vinea” was…
voix
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vox

It is inherited from Old French voiz, inherited from Latin vōx (“voice, sound; word”) (accusative “vōcem”). The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *wōks and Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs, a root used…
vêtement
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vestimentum

It is inherited from Old French vestement, inherited from Latin vestīmentum (“garment, clothing”), from vestis (“garment”) (see veste). Rey, the Grand Robert and Bloch and Wartburg describe it as a…
vêtir
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin vestio

It is inherited from Old French vestir, inherited from Latin vestiō (“to clothe; to cover, adorn”), from vestis (“garment, clothing”). The Petit Robert relates the Latin noun to the root of induō…
étendre
205 BC–184 BC

from Latin extendo

It is inherited from Old French estendre, inherited from Latin extendere (“to stretch out, widen”), from “ex-” with intensive value and Latin tendere (“to stretch”) (see tendre), which belongs to an…
aile
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin ala

It is inherited from Old French ele, inherited from Latin āla (“wing; armpit; wing of an army”), respelt with ⟨ai⟩ in the 15th century after the Latin word. The Latin noun is related to axis…
air
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin aer

1. It is inherited from Old French air, inherited from Latin āēr (“air”) (accusative “aerem”), from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr, “mist; air”). The traditional link of the Greek word with ἄημι (áēmi, “to…
avouer
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin advoco

It is inherited from Old French avoer, inherited from Latin advocō (“to call to oneself, summon”), from ad- and vocō (“to call”), from vōx (“voice”). The Old French forms “avoer”, then “avouer” and…
cesser
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin cesso

It is inherited from Latin cessō (“to delay, loiter; to stop, be idle”), the frequentative of cēdō (“to go away, withdraw; to yield”) (whence céder). Bloch and Wartburg explain the sense “to cease”…
chaleur
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin calor

It is inherited from Old French chalor, inherited from Latin calor (“heat, warmth; ardour”), accusative “calōrem”, from caleō (“to be warm”), the source of Old French chaloir (“to matter”). The TLFi…
conseil
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin consilium

It is inherited from Old French conseil, inherited from Latin cōnsilium (“deliberation; deliberative assembly; plan, purpose; advice”), from cōnsulō (“to deliberate, consult”) (see consulter)…
entendre
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin intendo

It is inherited from Old French entendre, inherited from Latin intendō (“to stretch towards; to direct (the mind) towards”), formed with in- from tendō (“to stretch”) (see tendre). In Christian…
front
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin frons

It is inherited from Latin frontem (“forehead; brow; face, expression; front of a thing, of an army”). “Frōns” was usually feminine in Latin but already sometimes masculine; in Gallo-Romance only…
louer
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin laudo

1. The verb “to praise” is inherited from Old French loer, inherited from Latin laudō (“to praise, approve, extol”). The Latin verb is derived from laus (“praise, merit, glory”), whose favourable…
mur
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin murus

It is inherited from Latin mūrus (“wall, especially of a city”), in Old Latin “moerus”. The Latin word was distinct from moenia (“ramparts”) and, from pariēs (“wall of a house”) (see paroi). It is…
nommer
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin nomino

It is inherited from Latin nōminō (“to call by name; to mention; to propose for an office”), from nōmen (“name”), the source of nom. The learned nominer is a later borrowing of the same family…
nous
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin nos

It is inherited from Old French nos, inherited from Latin nōs (“we, us”), the first person plural pronoun, stressed and unstressed. “Nous” is the form that developed in unstressed position, the only…
pitié
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin pietas

It is inherited from Old French pitet, inherited from Latin pietās (“dutiful respect towards the gods, parents, country”) from pius (“dutiful, pious”). Under the Empire the Latin word came to mean…
plein
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin plenus

It is inherited from Old French plein, inherited from Latin plēnus (“full”). The Latin adjective is formed from “plēre” “to fill”, replaced by its compounds (see emplir), and goes back to…
pont
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin pons

It is inherited from Latin pōns (“bridge; gangway”), accusative “pontem”. The Latin word belongs to an Indo-European family of words for a path or crossing, with Sanskrit पन्था (pánthāḥ, “path”) and…
pouls
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin pulsus

It is inherited from Old French pulz, inherited from Latin pulsus (“push, blow”), used in medicine in “pulsus venarum, pulsus arteriarum” “the beating of the veins, of the arteries”, the action noun…
profond
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin profundus

It is inherited from Old French parfunt, inherited from Latin profundus (“deep; dense; boundless”) with a change of prefix, remade under the influence of the Latin word, “profundus” is formed from…
quel
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin qualis

It is inherited from Old French quel, inherited from Latin quālis (“of what kind”). The Latin word, correlative of tālis (whence tel), was used in direct and indirect questions; in late popular…
royaume
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin regimen

It is inherited from Old French reiame, altered by crossing with royal; reiame was understood as a derivative of Latin rēx (“king”), but is in fact inherited from Latin regimen (“direction…
sueur
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin sudor

It is inherited from Old French suor, inherited from Latin sūdor (“sweat; moisture; toil, hardship”), in its accusative sūdōrem, derived from sūdō (“to sweat”). Wiktionary traces the Latin word to…
traiter
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin tracto

It is inherited from Old French traitier, inherited from Latin tractō (“to drag; to handle; to manage; to deal with, discuss”), the frequentative of trahō (“to draw, pull”) (see traire), formed on…
veiller
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin vigilo

It is inherited from Old French veillier, inherited from Latin vigilō (“to be awake; to be watchful; to tend”), through a contracted Vulgar Latin form. The Latin verb is derived from vigilia…
vent
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin ventus

It is inherited from Latin ventus (“wind; flatulence; fortune; current of opinion”). Wiktionary traces it through Proto-Italic *wentos to Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts, from Proto-Indo-European…
verser
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin verso

It is inherited from Latin versō (“to turn often; to stir; to knock about”), the frequentative of vertō (“to turn”). The Latin verb vertere continues an older form with ⟨o⟩, and its Indo-European…
vie
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin vita

It is inherited from Old French vie, inherited from Latin vīta (“life; way of life; livelihood; biography”). “Vīta” comes from an older “*vivita”, derived from vīvō (“to live”), and Wiktionary…
établir
204 BC–169 BC

from Latin stabilio

It is inherited from Old French establir, inherited from Latin stabiliō (“to make firm, support, prop up”). The Latin verb is derived from stabilis (“firm, steady”), properly “able to stand…

All French words inherited from Latin, by century →