Etymologically
Log in

lit

Etymology and origin of the French word lit

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis
Inherited from
Latin lectus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*legʰ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lectus
French lit

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /li/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [li][1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [lit][1]

Forms

lit m (plural lits)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lit, inherited from Latin lectus (“bed; couch; marriage bed”).[2][3][4][5][1] The Latin word belongs to an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”), seen in Ancient Greek λέχος (lékhos, “bed”), German liegen, German legen and English lie, but missing in Indo-Iranian and Armenian, Latin kept no verb from it, using cubō (“to lie”) instead.[3][6][7]

Cognate with Italian letto, Occitan leit, Catalan llit, Spanish lecho and Portuguese leito.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, meaning a piece of furniture for sleeping.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1318 lit named the canopy under which the king sat in the Parlement, whence lit de justice (1377), then the solemn sitting itself (about 1470).[2] By 1486 it also meant marriage, as in enfants du premier lit.[2] About 1200 it was a hunting term, about 1265 (Brunetto Latini) the bed of a river, in 1306 (Joinville) a horizontal layer, and at sea le lit du vent (1573).[2]

Phrases name kinds of bed: lit de camp (15th century), lit de douleur (17th century, after lit de sa douleur, about 1120), lits jumeaux (1755) and lit double (1845); in Quebec a lit simple is a single bed.[3] English litter comes from French litière.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Lit in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1200 – A hunting term, in Garin le Lorrain.[2]
  • c. 1265 – The bed of a river, in Brunetto Latini.[2]
  • 1306 – A layer, in Joinville.[2]
  • 1377 – Lit de justice.[2]
  • 1486 – Marriage.[2]
  • 1755 – Lits jumeaux.[3]
  • 1834 – Literie.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bed: aller au lit, garder le lit, faire son lit.[6]
  2. Marriage: un enfant du premier lit.[2]
  3. The bed of a river: la rivière est sortie de son lit.[2][6]
  4. A layer: un lit de sable.[2][6]
  5. (history) Lit de justice: a solemn sitting of the Parlement in the king's presence.[2]

Word family

  • wagon-lit
  • litée
  • literie
  • aliter
  • déliter
  • litière
  • châlit
  • litage
  • Latin lectus
  • English litter

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 l m n o 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 236a
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lit.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lit. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·