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ligne

Etymology and origin of the French word ligne

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (lign)
Inherited from
Latin linea
Ultimate origin
Latin (līnum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin linea
French ligne
Latin lineo
Latin lineamentum

Pronunciation

Forms

ligne f (plural lignes)[1] Old French lign (masculine, 1080) “lineage”, ligne “cord” about 1140.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin līnea (“linen thread, string; line”), the feminine used as a noun of līneus (“of flax”), from līnum (“flax”) (whence lin).[4][3][5][2][1][6] In Latin it named a linen thread, then any cord, and by analogy a drawn or geometrical line; in imperial and later Latin it was also a line of descent.[3][4] Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense “fishing line” was already Latin.[5]

Cognate with Italian linea, Old Occitan linha and Spanish línea.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) lign, masculine, is a family line, the members of one lineage.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Until the 16th century ligne named a lineage, a sense later left to lignage and lignée.[3] As a cord it is found about 1140, and as a fishing line in Chrétien de Troyes (1181–90).[4] The idea of a drawn stroke followed (1165–70, a dividing line; a pen stroke in the 13th century), and with it a line of writing (mid-13th century), à la ligne (1685) and entrer en ligne de compte (after Montaigne's mettre en ligne de compte, 1570).[4][3]

A row of soldiers or fortifications gave the military senses (1640–62) and en première ligne (1829); a continuous direction gave ligne de conduite and la droite ligne (1538).[4][3] The 19th century brought the telegraph line (1800), the railway line (1817) and the regular transport service (1837–39).[4][8] The figure of a body, avoir de la ligne (1872), and garder la ligne “to stay slim” are later, en ligne “online” is a computing sense.[4][3][1] The old measure ligne, a twelfth of an inch, dates from 1289.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Lign “lineage”, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1140 – “Cord”, Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.[4]
  • 1181–90 – A fishing line, Chrétien de Troyes.[4]
  • Mid-13th century – A line of writing.[4]
  • 1289 – A twelfth of an inch.[4]
  • 1570 – Mettre en ligne de compte, Montaigne.[4]
  • 1662 – A line of troops.[4]
  • 1800 – Ligne télégraphique.[4]
  • 1837 – A regular transport route.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A line, stroke: tracer une ligne droite, ligne d'arrivée.[9][1]
  2. A line of writing or print: aller à la ligne, lire entre les lignes.[1][3]
  3. A row, (military) a line of troops or fortifications: en première ligne.[3][4]
  4. A route, service: ligne de métro, ligne aérienne, avion de ligne.[1][8]
  5. A wire, cable: ligne téléphonique, ligne à haute tension, en ligne, online.[1][3]
  6. A fishing line: pêcher à la ligne.[3][7]
  7. A course of action, direction: ligne de conduite, la ligne du parti.[3][1]
  8. The figure, outline of the body: garder la ligne.[1][4]
  9. (dated) A lineage: en ligne directe.[3][7]

Word family

  • aligner
  • alignement
  • lignage
  • lignée
  • interligne
  • souligner
  • ligner

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 350a
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Ligne.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ligne. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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