Etymologically
Log in

lécher

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word lécher

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1120 Oxford Psalter More words from the 12th century
Borrowed from
Frankish *lekkōn via Middle French, Old French
Ultimate origin
Frankish *lekkōn

Pronunciation

Forms

lécher[1] Old French lechier, leschier, Middle French lecher, 16th-century leicher.[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French lecher, inherited from Old French lechier, borrowed from Frankish *lekkōn (“to lick”), reconstructed from Middle Dutch licken, lecken, Old High German lecchōn and German lecken.[3][4][5][6][7][1] Bloch and Wartburg call the Frankish origin probable and compare Italian leccare, Old Occitan lecar and Late Latin lecator (“glutton”) in glosses attributed to Isidore of Seville.[8][3] Wiktionary has the Frankish verb pass through Vulgar Latin *liccō, and mentions an alternative derivation from *lingicō, from Latin lingō (“to lick”).[1] Rey notes that the Germanic words belong to the same Indo-European root as that Latin verb and Ancient Greek λείχω (leíkhō).[4]

Pierre Guiraud, without ruling out Frankish influence, saw a Romance word, a doublet of lisser from Latin lixicō, with ⟨i⟩ becoming ⟨e⟩ under the influence of a yod.[4][9] Familiar French also has the form licher, recorded from the 12th century, which Bloch and Wartburg ascribe to the influence of that verb.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has it for passing the tongue over something: the king's enemies la terre lecherunt “will lick the ground”.[3][2] The sense “to remove by licking” is found about 1170 in the Livre des Rois.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to flatter” appears in a few 14th-century texts, such as the Ovide moralisé, and returns with lécher le cul à quelqu'un (1798) and lécher les bottes de quelqu'un (1848).[3][4] The idea of finishing a work with excessive care is found in the participle léché (1680) and the verb (1690); it became common in painting, with a slightly pejorative tone.[3][4]

Ours mal léché (1678, La Fontaine) alludes to the ancient legend that bear cubs are born shapeless and licked into shape by their mothers; it meant a misshapen child in 1694 and a coarse, ill-mannered man by 1718.[3][4] The 19th century added the sense of flames or waves just touching something (1826, Chateaubriand), and lécher les vitrines “to go window-shopping” is recorded in 1959.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – The Oxford Psalter uses lecher.[4][5]
  • c. 1170 – The Livre des Rois uses it for removing by licking.[3]
  • early 14th century – The Ovide moralisé uses it for flattering.[3]
  • 1678 – La Fontaine uses ours mal léché.[3]
  • 1690 – Furetière records the sense “to finish with minute care”.[3]
  • 1798 – The Académie records lécher le cul à quelqu'un.[3]
  • 1826 – Chateaubriand uses it of flames.[3]
  • 1848 – Lécher les bottes de quelqu'un appears in Balzac.[3]
  • 1959 – Lécher les vitrines is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To pass the tongue over something, to lick; also to remove by licking.[6][10]
  2. (figurative, familiar) Se lécher les babines: to relish something in advance.[10][6]
  3. (figurative) Of flames or waves, to touch lightly, to lap.[6][10]
  4. (familiar) Lécher les bottes ((vulgar) lécher le cul) to someone: to flatter someone servilely.[6][10]
  5. (familiar) Lécher les vitrines: to go window-shopping.[10][6]
  6. (figurative, informal) To polish a work with excessive care.[1][4]

Word family

  • lèche-cul
  • lèche-vitrine
  • léchage
  • lécheur
  • lèchefrite
  • pourlécher
  • lèche-botte
  • licher
  • English lick
  • German lecken

Usage notes

Ours mal léché is now said of a surly, coarse person.[10][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 455b
  8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lécher.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/l%C3%A9cher. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·