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lévrier

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Etymology and origin of the French word lévrier

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1135 Couronnement de Louis More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin lepus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lepus
French lièvre
French lévrier
Italian lepre
Romanian iepure
Spanish liebre
From the same root
Romanian iepurar ← iepure

Pronunciation

  • /le.vʁi.je/[1]

Forms

lévrier m (plural lévriers, feminine levrette)[1] Old French levrer, levrier; feminine levriere.[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from French lièvre + -ier, the dog having been used to hunt hares.[3][4][5][6][7] Late Latin had the same formation in Late Latin canis leporārius (about 720, in the laws of the Alamanni) and veltris leporārius (802–803), literally “hare dog”, leporārius coming from Latin lepus (“hare”);[3][6] Littré and Wiktionary derive the French word from this Late Latin name.[2][1]

Cognate with Catalan llebrer, Spanish lebrel and Italian levriere.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1135 in the Couronnement de Louis, naming a kind of hunting dog.[3][6] Littré quotes the Roncevaux: Si com li cers fuit devant le levrier, “as the stag flees before the greyhound”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The dog was long trained to course hares; its link with lièvre is no longer felt.[6] In the 17th century the word was applied to men sent in pursuit of someone: les levriers du bourreau “the sergeants and archers” (Sorel, 1622), and lâcher des levriers après quelqu'un “to send men after someone to seize him” (Furetière, 1690).[3][5] These senses have partly given way to limier.[6] In sport the word has been used since 1901 for a fast racing cyclist.[6][8]

Today the dogs also run on greyhound tracks, and lévrier names several breeds, such as the lévrier afghan.[3][9][1]

Timeline

  • c. 720 – Canis leporarius in the laws of the Alamanni.[3]
  • c. 1135 – First record, in the Couronnement de Louis.[3][6]
  • 1585 – The derivative levron “young greyhound”.[3]
  • 1622 – Les levriers du bourreau in Sorel's Francion.[3]
  • 1690 – Furetière records lâcher des levriers après quelqu'un.[3]
  • 1901 – Used of a fast racing cyclist.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A greyhound or other sighthound, a slender, long-legged, very fast dog with a narrow head and pointed muzzle, once used to hunt hares and now raced on tracks.[3][9][1]
  2. (dated, figurative) An agent sent in pursuit of someone, a sleuth.[5][3]
  3. (cycling) A fast racer.[6]

Word family

  • levrette
  • levron
  • lévrier afghan

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c 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 h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique 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. 5, 260a
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Lévrier.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/l%C3%A9vrier. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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