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jardin

Etymology and origin of the French word jardin

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1138, Gaimar (gardin)
From
Frankish *gardo
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic (*gardô)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʒaʁ.dɛ̃/[1]

Forms

jardin m (plural jardins)[1] Gardin (about 1138, Gaimar), jardin from the middle of the 12th century; the Anglo-Norman form is gardin.[2][3][4] Old French also had the simple jart, gart “garden” (12th century).[5][2]

Etymology

It probably goes back to a Gallo-Romance “*hortus gardinus” “enclosed garden”, whose second element comes from Frankish *gardo (“enclosure”) or “*gart”; Medieval Latin gardinium is attested from the 9th or 10th century.[5][6][7][3][8] The Frankish word is reconstructed from Old High German garto (“garden”) (modern German Garten) and Old French “jart”, and Bloch and Wartburg compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌰 (garda, “enclosure”), Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Germanic *gardô (“enclosure, yard”), whence also English yard.[5][7][1] The GLLF and Petit Robert derive “jardin” directly from “gart”.[2][9]

The first element, Latin hortus (“garden”), gave Old French ort, which “jardin” displaced.[6] From French the word spread to Italian giardino and Spanish jardín, and the Anglo-Norman variant “gardin” gave English garden.[5][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the second quarter of the 12th century (the poem Grand mal fit Adam) it is a piece of ground, usually enclosed, where useful or ornamental plants are grown.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages the kitchen garden and the pleasure garden were often one, jardin potager is found in 1570.[6][2] Rabelais (1532) calls Touraine le jardin de France, a fertile region.[5][6] The 18th and 19th centuries named kinds of garden: jardin botanique (1732), jardin anglais (1771), jardin français (1814, à la française, 1859), jardin zoologique (1834) and jardin d'hiver (1866).[5][6] Jardin d'enfants (1859) is modelled on German Kindergarten, the name Friedrich Fröbel gave his institution in 1840.[5][6] In the theatre côté jardin (1869), the left side of the stage as seen from the audience, recalls the Tuileries theatre, which stood between the garden and the courtyard of the palace.[6] Jardin secret is a private inner world.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1138 – Gardin, Gaimar.[2]
  • c. 1180 – Jardinier.[6]
  • 1532 – Le jardin de France, Rabelais.[5]
  • 1570 – Jardin potager.[6]
  • 1771 – Jardin anglais.[5]
  • 1834 – Jardin zoologique, Michelet.[5]
  • 1859 – Jardin d'enfants.[5]
  • 1869 – Côté jardin, in the theatre.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A garden: jardin potager, jardin d'agrément, jardin à la française.[9][1]
  2. A public garden, park: le jardin du Luxembourg, jardin public.[10][6]
  3. Jardin botanique, jardin zoologique: botanical garden, zoo.[5][6]
  4. Jardin d'enfants: a kindergarten.[5][6]
  5. (theatre) Côté jardin: stage left.[6]
  6. (figurative) Jardin secret: one's private inner life.[6]

Word family

  • jardiner
  • jardinage
  • jardinier
  • jardinière
  • jardinet

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 18b
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Jardin.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/jardin. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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