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leurre

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Etymology and origin of the French word leurre

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1202 Jean Bodel, Congés More words from the 13th century
Borrowed from
Frankish *lōþr via Old French
Ultimate origin
Frankish *lōþr

Pronunciation

Forms

leurre m (plural leurres)[1] Old French loire, loirre and loerre;[2][3][4][5] leurre is found from 1377.[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French loirre, borrowed from Frankish *lōþr (“bait”),[2][6][3][7][4][8][9] reconstructed from Middle High German luoder (“bait, lure”), modern German Luder.[2][6][3] Rey thinks the Frankish word is probably related to a verb Frankish *laþon (“to invite”), represented by Old English laþian, German laden and Middle Dutch laden.[6][10] The Grand Robert also cites Guiraud's proposal of Latin loreus (“made of leather”), from lōrum (“leather strap”).[11]

Compare Old Occitan loire and Italian logoro.[3][5][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as loire in 1202 in Jean Bodel's Congés, apparently in the general sense “something that attracts”.[2][6] Within a few decades, in the Reclus de Molliens' Miserere (first quarter of the 13th century), it is a term of falconry.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word soon specialised in falconry for the piece of red leather shaped like a bird and trimmed with feathers that brought the hawk back to the falconer's fist,[6][2] hence oiseau de leurre, a hawk trained to return to it (1587).[7][5] By analogy of function it became a fishing term for an artificial bait (1769).[6][7] About 1580 it took the figurative sense of an artifice that draws someone in to deceive him, and today more abstractly whatever deceives, an illusion.[6][7][4] In military use it names an object that simulates a target for enemy radar or infrared detectors.[4][1]

English borrowed the Anglo-French form as lure in the early 14th century, first in the figurative sense of an attraction.[10]

Timeline

  • 1202 – Loire “what attracts” appears in Jean Bodel's Congés.[2][6]
  • Early 13th century – It is used in falconry by the Reclus de Molliens.[2]
  • Early 14th century – English borrows it as lure.[10]
  • 1377 – The form leurre appears in Gace de la Buigne.[2]
  • c. 1580 – The figurative sense “deceptive artifice” appears.[6][7]
  • 1587 – Oiseau de leurre is recorded.[7]
  • 1769 – It becomes a fishing term in Duhamel du Monceau.[7][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (falconry) A lure: a piece of red leather shaped like a bird, with feathers, used to call the hawk back to the falconer's fist.[2][4][5]
  2. (fishing) An artificial bait used in spin fishing.[2][7]
  3. (military) A decoy that imitates a target for enemy radar or infrared detectors.[4][1]
  4. (figurative) A deceptive illusion or trick: Ses belles paroles n'étaient qu'un leurre.[2][4][6]

Word family

  • leurrer

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 485a
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5131
  10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Leurre.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/leurre. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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