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logis

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Etymology and origin of the French word logis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1348 More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Frankish *laubja

Pronunciation

Forms

logis m (invariable)[1] Old French logeis (early 14th century), later logis.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French loger + -is.[5][2][1] Littré compares the old form logeis with the Latin adjectives in -āticius.[6] The verb loger is from French loge, which is from Frankish *laubja (“arbour, bower”), related to German Laube (“arbour”).[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is a Paris document of 1348 on carpenters working on the roof of a logeys, a place where one stays.[5] Bloch and Wartburg give 1308, and the Grand Robert and the Grand Larousse an early 14th-century logeis for an army's tents or camp.[7][2][3]

Semantic evolution

About 1355 Bersuire used it for the tents of a camp in his translation of Livy.[5][6] The general sense “dwelling” is in Froissart about 1360.[3] Since the late 16th century it has also been the architect's term for the main body of a building, corps de logis.[4][3] The word now sounds old-fashioned or literary in the sense “home”, but it lives on in fixed phrases such as la folle du logis “the imagination” (1674, Malebranche) and la fée du logis.[4][3][9] The compound sans-logis “homeless person” dates from 1893.[4]

Timeline

  • 1348 – A Paris document has logeys “lodging”.[5]
  • c. 1355 – Bersuire uses logeis for an army's camp.[5][6]
  • c. 1360 – Froissart writes logis “dwelling”.[3]
  • 1387 – Logis is recorded in Anglo-Norman.[10]
  • Late 16th century – It names the main body of a building.[4][3]
  • 1674 – La folle du logis “the imagination” is recorded.[4][3]
  • 1893 – Sans-logis is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated or literary) A dwelling, home: rester au logis, le maître du logis.[9][3]
  2. Corps de logis: the main body of a building, as opposed to its wings.[9][6]
  3. La folle du logis: the imagination.[9][4]
  • loger
  • loge
  • logement
  • sans-logis

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final ⟨s⟩ is pronounced in liaison.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  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 d e 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
  6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 449a
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Logis.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/logis. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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