Etymologically
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lourd

Etymology and origin of the French word lourd

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1160, Roman de Tristan (lort)
Inherited from
Latin lurdus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (lūridus)

Pronunciation

Forms

lourd (feminine lourde, masculine plural lourds, feminine plural lourdes)[1] Old French lort, lorz (about 1160–65), lourt (about 1330), lourd from the 13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Old French lort, inherited from Late Latin lurdus, an alteration of lūridus (“sallow, wan, lurid”).[4][5][6][1][7] The popular form “lurdus” is attested in the glosses of Rabanus Maurus, translated “fûl” “rotten”.[4][8] The development of sense is difficult, since the physical sense “heavy” came late: Bloch and Wartburg pass from “wan” to “giddy”, the sense of dialect “lourd” “having the staggers” (of sheep), and, from there to “dull, stupid”.[6][5] The FEW rejects that chain on chronological grounds, Pierre Guiraud proposed instead “*luridus” “swollen like a wineskin”, from lūra (“wineskin”), which raises problems of form.[4][5][2] Wiktionary allows the influence of Frankish “*lort” “clumsy”.[1]

Compare Italian lordo (“dirty”) and Old Occitan lort (“foolish”).[6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Benoît de Sainte-Maure (about 1165) lorz means dazed, oafish; about 1170 Béroul's Tristan has lort “foolish, stupid”.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Its early senses concern people: stupid (12th century), coarse, boorish (about 1330), clumsy (15th century).[4][5] About 1275 Jean de Meun uses it for “heavy, massive”, but the physical sense “weighty” became common only in the 16th century (1554), when it supplanted grave in that sense.[4][5][6] Figurative uses followed: a heavy burden (1388–89), heavy sleep (1573), lourde faute (1559), heavy, sultry weather (1810), a heavy style.[4][5] The 19th and 20th centuries added artillerie lourde (1863), poids lourd (1910), eau lourde and industrie lourde; in recent slang lourd means tiresome, and the back-slang relou comes from it.[5][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – Lort, Roman de Tristan.[2][3]
  • c. 1275 – “Heavy, massive”, Jean de Meun.[4]
  • 1306 – Lourdeau, later lourdaud.[6]
  • 1554 – Of weight, Thevet.[4]
  • 1559 – Lourde faute, Amyot.[4]
  • 1810 – “Oppressive”, Madame de Staël.[4]
  • 1863 – Artillerie lourde.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. heavy: une valise lourde, poids lourd, a heavy goods vehicle.[10][1]
  2. Heavy, ponderous; clumsy, oafish: une démarche lourde, un esprit lourd.[10][1]
  3. Serious, grave: une lourde responsabilité, une lourde faute.[4][10]
  4. Of the weather, sultry, close: il fait lourd.[1][11]
  5. Heavy-handed, lacking subtlety: une plaisanterie lourde, un style lourd.[10][8]
  6. Lourd de: fraught with: lourd de conséquences.[3][1]
  7. (familiar) Tiresome, a drag.[1]

Adverb

  1. Peser lourd: to weigh a lot, (familiar) pas lourd, not much: il n'en fait pas lourd.[11][4]

Word family

  • lourdaud
  • lourdement
  • lourdeur
  • lourdingue
  • alourdir
  • alourdissement
  • relou

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 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 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 465b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Lourd.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lourd. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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