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jeu

Etymology and origin of the French word jeu

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (giu)
Inherited from
Latin iocus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (iocus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iocus
English jeopardy
English joke
French jeu

Pronunciation

Forms

jeu m (plural jeux)[1] Old French giu, geu (about 1160) and gieu.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French giu, inherited from Latin iocus (“joke, jest, play with words”).[4][2][5][6] Often paired with lūdus (“play, game”), “iocus” replaced it in Vulgar Latin and took over all its senses.[5][2][7] Rey compares Indo-European words for speech such as Middle Welsh ieith (“language”) and Old High German jehan (“to declare”).[2]

Cognate with Romanian joc, Italian gioco, Occitan joc, Catalan joc, Spanish juego and Portuguese jogo; English joke is from the same Latin word.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

As giu it is found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, meaning amusement: Greignor fais porte par giu quant il s'enveise (“he carries a heavier load in play, when he amuses himself”).[4][9]

Semantic evolution

From the start it meant both free amusement and play organized by rules, with winning and losing; about 1160 the Roman d'Eneas has gius for athletic contests and ce n'est pas jous “this is no trifle”.[4][2] About 1200 it meant the stake, and the rules: Qui en gieu entre, bien doit gieu consentir (“whoever joins the game must accept the game”).[4] The Jeu de saint Nicolas of Jean Bodel shows its use for a play; by 1680 it was an actor's manner of acting, and vieux jeu (1511, c'est le vieil jeu) may come from the stage.[4][2]

By metonymy it named the things one plays with (jus d'eskés “chessmen”, about 1200), the place (geu de paume, 1385), a pack of cards (1451) and a player's hand (1580).[4][2] An organ stop is jeu in 1515, the way of playing an instrument in 1559 or 1690, and the free movement or clearance of a part in a machine in 1689.[4][2] Gambling, le jeu, is recorded after 1550, jeu de mots is in Molière's Misanthrope (1666), jeux d'eau in 1704 and d'entrée de jeu in 1689.[4][2] Coubertin revived the jeux Olympiques in 1894.[4] In tennis a jeu is a game within a set (1936).[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Giu “amusement”, in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1160 – Athletic contests, in the Roman d'Eneas.[4]
  • c. 1200 – The stake; the rules; chessmen.[4]
  • c. 1223 – Faire le jeu de quelqu'un in Gautier de Coinci.[4]
  • 1451 – A pack of cards.[4]
  • 1511 – C'est le vieil jeu in Gringore.[4]
  • 1515 – An organ stop.[4]
  • 1666 – Jeu de mots in Molière.[4]
  • 1689 – Clearance in a mechanism.[4][2]
  • 1894 – Coubertin's jeux Olympiques.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. play, amusement: par jeu, le besoin du jeu chez l'enfant.[11][12]
  2. A game with rules: jeu de cartes, jeu de société, jeu vidéo.[1][2]
  3. gambling: perdre au jeu, faites vos jeux.[4][1]
  4. A set of objects: un jeu de cartes, un jeu de clés; a player's hand of cards.[1][2]
  5. (theatre, music) A way of acting a part or playing an instrument.[2][4]
  6. An organ stop.[1][4]
  7. (mechanics) Play, clearance between parts: avoir du jeu.[1][2]
  8. (tennis) A game within a set.[10]
  9. (figurative) A way of acting, a manoeuvre: cacher son jeu, double jeu.[1][2]
  10. En jeu: at stake, jeu de mots: a pun, vieux jeu: old-fashioned.[2][4]

Word family

  • enjoué
  • enjeu
  • hors-jeu
  • franc-jeu

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 42b
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Jeu.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/jeu. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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