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Etymology and origin of the French word jonc

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1160 Benoît de Sainte-Maure More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin iuncus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin iuncus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iūncus
French jonc
Italian giunco
Spanish junco
From the same root
Latin iuncata ← iūncus
Spanish junquillo ← junco

Pronunciation

Forms

jonc m (plural joncs)[1] Old French junc (about 1160) and jonc (about 1175).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French junc, inherited from Latin iuncus (“rush, a stem like a rush”).[5][6][1][7] Rey describes it as taken from the Latin word, which is found from Plautus on and has no certain etymology.[4] Littré linked the Latin word with iungō (“to join”), since a rush serves as a tie.[8]

Cognate with Italian giunco, Occitan jonc, Catalan jonc and Spanish junco.[9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as junc in Benoît de Sainte-Maure (about 1160), in the line Fors la vert herbe e le junc freis “except the green grass and the fresh rush”, naming the plant.[3][8] The TLFi's first record is Chrétien de Troyes's Erec et Enide (1165–1170).[5]

Semantic evolution

From the plant the word came to name its stem used in basketry and matting (15th century), then any flexible stem, especially a switch or a walking cane (1824).[4][3] In Old French it also meant a lamp wick.[9] With qualifiers it names several other plants, such as jonc fleuri (1764).[4]

By analogy, jewellers use it for a ring or bracelet of the same thickness all round (1631).[5][4] This use is perhaps the source of the slang jonc “gold” (1790).[4][2]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure has junc.[3][2]
  • 1165–1170 – Chrétien de Troyes uses the plant name in Erec et Enide.[5]
  • 13th century – The Roman de la Rose compares a straight tail to a rush.[8]
  • 15th century – The stem used for basketry and matting.[4][3]
  • 1474 – Jeu de jongz, the game later called jonchets.[4]
  • 1631 – A ring of even thickness all round.[5][4]
  • 1764 – Jonc fleuri names the flowering rush.[4]
  • 1790 – Slang jonc “gold” in le Rat du Châtelet.[5][3]
  • 1824 – A cane or switch.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A rush, a plant with tall, straight, flexible stems that grows in water and marshy ground.[10][11][1] Jonc fleuri: the flowering rush.[10][4] Jonc marin: gorse, ajonc.[10]
  2. The stem of the rush, used for ties, matting and basketry: une natte de jonc.[10][4]
  3. A cane or switch, especially of rattan.[10][1][3]
  4. A ring or bangle of even thickness all round.[10][11][5] (Canada) A wedding ring.[10]
  5. (technical) A decorative or reinforcing cord or plastic strip on shoes, leatherwork or a car's bodywork.[11][1]

Word family

  • jonchée
  • joncher
  • jonchet
  • jonchère
  • joncacées

Usage notes

A separate slang jonc (the Grand Robert's second homograph, of uncertain origin) has meant gold since 1790, gold coin since 1842 and money in general since 1885; it may come from the jeweller's sense of the word.[5][4][2] It gave the slang joncaille “gold in ingots or jewellery” (1928).[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 65a
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Jonc.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/jonc. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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