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loi

Etymology and origin of the French word loi

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (lei)
Inherited from
Latin lex via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (lēx)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin lex
French loi
Latin legalis
English legal
Latin legifer

Pronunciation

Forms

loi f (plural lois)[1] Old French lei (about 980), loi (12th century); the Académie wrote loy in 1694 and 1718.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lei, inherited from Latin lēx (“religious law; law; contract”), from its accusative “lēgem”.[3][2][4][5][6][1] Rey explains that “lex” rested on the idea of an express agreement, unlike “jus” (formulated right) and “mos”, “consuetudo” (custom); church Latin used it for the law of Moses and of the Lord, and the word regained a religious sense that passed into Romance beside the legal one.[2] An Italic word with counterparts in Indo-Iranian, it may belong to the root of legō (“to gather; to read”) (see lire); Littré thought the origin obscure, noting that Latin etymologists linked it with ligō (“to bind”).[2][7]

Cognate with Romanian lege, Italian legge, Old Occitan lei, Catalan llei, Spanish ley and Portuguese lei.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion of Clermont (end of the 10th century) comuna lei is a rule applying to all, in a religious context; the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) has lei for the rule imposed by God, religion.[3] The Chanson de Roland has la lei de chrestiens, the Christian faith.[7]

Semantic evolution

Lei de terre (about 1120) is the law of a people issuing from a sovereign authority; a written act sanctioned by public force is in the Lois de Guillaume (about 1130), and an unwritten custom in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (1174–76).[3] Cotgrave (1611) has homme de loi.[3] Since the Reformation la loi also names the old law of Moses, after the language of the Bible.[4] Molière's lois de Vaugelas (1672) are the rules of grammar, and c'est la loi et les prophètes (Nicole, 1665) means an indisputable truth.[3][9] The scientific sense, a constant relation between phenomena, is modern: lois de la nature, loi de la pesanteur.[10][1]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Lei, Passion.[3]
  • c. 1120 – Lei de terre.[3]
  • c. 1130 – A written law, Lois de Guillaume.[3]
  • 12th century – The form loi.[2]
  • 1611 – Homme de loi, Cotgrave.[3]
  • 1665 – La loi et les prophètes.[9]
  • 1672 – Les lois de Vaugelas, Molière.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A law, a rule made by the sovereign authority of a society: voter une loi, projet de loi, nul n'est censé ignorer la loi.[10][11]
  2. The law, the body of laws: hors la loi, homme de loi, avoir force de loi.[1][3]
  3. A rule of conduct, an obligation: les lois de l'honneur, faire la loi, to lay down the law.[10][1]
  4. Religious law: la loi de Moïse, sans foi ni loi.[4][1]
  5. A scientific law, a constant relation between phenomena: loi de la gravitation.[1][10]
  • légal
  • législatif
  • législation
  • légitime
  • loyal
  • aloi
  • Latin lēx

Usage notes

A separate loi (1611, lays, 1273), a form of aloi, is the legal standard of fineness of coins.[5][10][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 291b
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Loi.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/loi. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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