Etymologically
Log in

lieu

Etymology and origin of the French word lieu

History Permalink
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin locus
French lieu
French lieutenant
French milieu
Latin localis
English local

French has two words spelled lieu: lieu “place”, inherited from Latin locus, and lieu “pollack”, a fish name borrowed from Old Norse.[1][2][3]

lieu1 place

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (loc)
Inherited from
Latin locus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (locus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ljø/[3]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ljø][3]

Forms

lieu m (plural lieux)[3] Old French loc (late 10th century), leu (about 1050), liu (1080), lieu from about 1120.[4][2][5]

Etymology

The place is inherited from Old French leu, inherited from Latin locus (“place, spot”), in early Latin “stlocus”.[2][4][6][7][8] The Latin word translated Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos) and took over its technical senses; its own origin is not clear.[4][9] Wiktionary connects it with Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to put, place”).[3] The same Latin family gave louer “to rent”, loyer and the learned local.[9]

Cognate with Italian luogo, Occitan luec, Catalan lloc, Romanian loc and Old Spanish “luego”.[8][10][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 10th century in the Passion of Clermont as loc, meaning a determined portion of space.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Lieu saint “temple” is in the Oxford Psalter (about 1120), and les lieux saints of Palestine from 1690.[2][4] In the Chanson de Roland es lius de means “in the place of”, whence en leu de (about 1160) and au lieu de “instead of” (1531).[2][6] Avoir lieu meant “to be welcome” (about 1180), then “to come true” (16th century), and, from 1778 (Buffon) “to take place”, il y a lieu de “there is reason to” is from 1611, tenir lieu de from 1534 and donner lieu à from 1656.[2]

Lieux communs “commonplaces” (1562), a calque of Latin loci communes, became “banalities” by 1666 (Molière).[2][6] In the plural les lieux meant the premises (1690) and the latrines (1640, lieux d'aisances 1802).[2] Haut lieu was a biblical high place in Racine (1691) before naming a memorable site (1931); en haut lieu “in high places” is from 1863.[2][4] Geometry has used lieu géométrique “locus” since 1690–1691.[2]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Loc in the Passion of Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Es lius de “in place of”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1287 – Lieutenant, “one who holds the place”.[6]
  • 1531 – Au lieu de.[2]
  • 1562 – Lieux communs.[2]
  • 1611 – Il y a lieu de, in Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1690 – Lieu géométrique.[2]
  • 1778 – Avoir lieu “to take place”, in Buffon.[2]
  • 1846 – Non-lieu.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A place, spot, location: lieu de travail, en lieu sûr.[3][8]
  2. Les lieux: the premises: état des lieux.[2][3]
  3. Avoir lieu: to take place, tenir lieu de: to serve as, donner lieu à: to give rise to.[3][2]
  4. Au lieu de: instead of, en premier lieu: firstly.[3][2]
  5. Il y a lieu de: there is reason to.[2]
  6. Lieu commun: a commonplace, a cliché.[3][2]
  7. (geometry) A locus.[3]
  8. Haut lieu: a place famous for something, en haut lieu: in high places.[2][3]

Word family

lieu2 pollack

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1431 (lief)
Borrowed from
Old Norse lýrr
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (lýrr)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ljø/[3]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ljø][3]

Forms

lieu m (plural lieus)[3] Middle French lief (1431), lieu from 1553; the plural is lieus.[2][9][3]

Etymology

The fish is borrowed from Old Norse lýrr (“pollack”), with the same meaning, first recorded in Brittany.[2][1][11][3] The Grand Robert and Littré compare Breton leouek.[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as lief in 1431 in the archives of Brittany, lieu appears in 1553 in the journal of the Sire de Gouberville.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The pollack (lieu jaune) or saithe (lieu noir), sea fish of the genus Pollachius.[9][3]
  • location
  • louer
  • loyer
  • local
  • localité
  • Latin locus

References

  1. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 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 f g h i j k l m n o p q r Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e 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, 392a
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 494b

Derived terms

Related etymologies

  • but · also from Old Norse
  • vague · also from Old Norse
  • fleur · also from Latin
  • chute · also from Latin
  • royaume · also from Latin
  • soupe · also from Latin
  • menu · also from Latin
  • chef · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Lieu.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lieu. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·