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jais

Etymology and origin of the French word jais

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
first half of the 12th century, Anglo-Norman lapidaries, jaiet
Inherited from
Latin gagates
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (γαγάτης)

Pronunciation

Forms

jais m (invariable)[1] Jaiet (12th century, until the 18th), gest (1260), geais (1611), jais (1669); also jai (Volney, 1791).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a contraction of Old French jaiet,[2][3][4][5] which is inherited from Latin gagātem (“jet”), the accusative of “gagātēs” (Pliny),[2][3][4][1][6] from Ancient Greek γαγάτης (gagátēs), literally “stone of Gagas”, a town and river of Lycia.[2][3][4][1] The regular French form would have been “*jaié”, changed to “jaiet” by a swap of suffix; the final “s” is an arbitrary spelling.[2][4][7] Old French also borrowed the learned “gagatès”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Anglo-Norman lapidaries (first half of the 12th century) describe jaiet, the black mineral.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The guild statutes of the Livre des métiers (1260) speak of makers of rosaries d'ambre et de gest.[8][2] The hard, shining black lignite was used for jewellery, mourning buttons and inlay, and also from 1690 jais also named black glass or black-enamelled metal imitating it, jais artificiel or faux jais.[2][3][8]

Noir comme jais is found from about 1510 (noir comme jayet) and 1690, noir de jais from 1803–1808 and de jais from 1833: des cheveux de jais, jet-black hair.[2][3][9] The word is often confused with its homophone geai in metaphors.[3]

Timeline

  • first half of the 12th century – Jaiet.[2][3]
  • 1260 – Gest (Livre des métiers).[2][3]
  • c. 1510 – Noir comme jayet (Lemaire de Belges).[2]
  • 1611 – Geais (Cotgrave).[2][5]
  • 1669 – Jais.[2][3]
  • 1690 – Black glass imitating jet[2]; noir comme jais (Furetière).[2]
  • 1808 – Noir de jais.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Jet, a hard, shining black variety of lignite used in jewellery.[9][10]
  2. Jais artificiel, faux jais: black glass or enamelled metal imitating jet.[9][2]
  3. (Noir) de jais: jet-black: des cheveux de jais.[10][9]
  • jayet
  • English jet

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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 g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 21a
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Jais.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/jais. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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