Etymologically
Log in

joli

Etymology and origin of the French word joli

History Permalink
Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1140, Gaimar (jolif)
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (jól)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʒɔ.li/[1]

Forms

joli (feminine jolie, masculine plural jolis, feminine plural jolies)[1] Old French jolif, feminine jolive, joli is found from the 13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is probably formed from Old Norse jól, the name of a great pagan feast in midwinter, with the suffix “-if” on the model of “aisif” “pleasant” (from aise).[5][2][4][6][7] Littré, after Diez, thought the word had come in with the Normans.[8] The Norse word matches Old English ġēol, English yule, and Gothic “jiuleis” in “fruma jiuleis” “November”, Wiktionary takes it back to Proto-Germanic *jehwlą.[2][1] The original sense would thus be “festive”.[2]

Paul Meyer suggested instead a popular Latin “*gaudivus”, from Latin gaudeō (“to rejoice”), with /d/ becoming /l/ as in “cigale”, Rey calls this fragile, but it fits the earliest senses, which express pleasure rather than feasting.[2][1] Compare Old Occitan joliu.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaimar uses estre jolif de femmes about 1140 in the sense “to be given to sensual love”.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the word had many senses: “lustful, ardent” (1140), “merry, joyful” (13th century), “tender”, “dressed up, elegant” (Rutebeuf, about 1265) and sometimes “brave, loyal”.[2][5] Most of them faded before the 16th century, leaving joli cœur, a ladies' man, and survive partly in English jolly, borrowed from it.[2][4] The moral sense “amiable, likeable” lasted into the classical period.[2][9]

The modern sense, “very pleasant to see or hear”, appears about 1360 in Froissart, as a softer word than beau, often suggesting smallness; it is used of things from 1360 and of animals from 1690.[2][3] Molière (1671) applies it to a clever trick played on someone.[5] Familiarly it has meant “considerable” since about 1550 (un joli magot), and ironically “unpleasant” since 1634.[5][2][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1140 – Jolif “lustful”, in Gaimar.[5]
  • 13th century – “Merry”; the form joli.[5][2]
  • c. 1265 – “Elegant”, in Rutebeuf.[5]
  • c. 1360 – “Pleasant to look at”, in Froissart.[2][3]
  • c. 1550 – “Considerable”, of a sum of money.[5]
  • 1634 – Ironic “unpleasant”.[2][10]
  • 1671 – “Clever, amusing”, of a trick, in Molière.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. pretty, attractive: une jolie fille, un joli garçon, une jolie maison.[9][11]
  2. Pleasant to hear: une jolie voix.[11]
  3. Pleasing, well turned: un joli mot.[2][9]
  4. (familiar) Considerable, tidy: une jolie somme.[2][5]
  5. (ironic) Nasty, fine: c'est du joli !.[12][2]
  6. (dated) Amiable, likeable, faire le joli cœur, to play the ladies' man.[9][5]
  7. (Louisiana) Pleasant, nice.[1]

Word family

  • joliment
  • joliet
  • enjoliver
  • enjolivement
  • enjoliveur
  • enjolivure
  • jolivet
  • jolivement
  • joliesse

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 284b
  8. ^ 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 Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Joli.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/joli. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·