Etymologically
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lieue

Etymology and origin of the French word lieue

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (liue)
Inherited from
Latin leuca via Old French
Ultimate origin
Gaulish

Pronunciation

Forms

lieue f (plural lieues)[1] Old French liue, liwe, luie.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French liue, inherited from Late Latin leuca, also leuga,[2][4][5][6][7] which Latin writers give as a Gaulish word, the Gaulish mile:[2][4][5][8] from Gaulish.[1] Wiktionary relates it to Proto-Celtic *lougā and Breton lev.[1]

Cognate with Italian lega, Occitan lega and Spanish legua.[5][3] The English word league comes from Old French.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) measures distances in liues: the horn is heard thirty leagues away.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The league, roughly four kilometres but varying by region and use, stayed in use until the 20th century, giving way to the kilometre imposed by the Revolution.[2][4] It survives in the lieue marine (1704), in Jules Verne's Vingt mille lieues sous les mers and in the bottes de sept lieues of Perrault's Petit Poucet.[4][8]

Figuratively it means a great distance (Mme de Sévigné, 1671), as in être à cent lieues de “to be miles from (thinking)” (1866),[2][4] and by exaggeration a short distance that seems long (Beaumarchais, 1775).[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Liue (Roland).[2][6]
  • 1671 – “A great distance” (Sévigné).[2][4]
  • 1704 – Lieue marine.[2][4]
  • 1775 – A distance that seems long (Beaumarchais).[2]
  • 1866 – Être à cent lieues de.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (historical) A league, an old measure of distance of about four kilometres.[8][1]
  2. Lieue marine: a sea league of three nautical miles.[8]
  3. Être à cent lieues de: to be far from (thinking, imagining).[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 262a
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lieue.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lieue. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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