Etymologically
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mèche

Etymology and origin of the French word mèche

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1130, Eneas
Inherited from
Latin *micca via Old French
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (μύξα)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɛʃ/[1]

Forms

mèche f (plural mèches)[1] Old French mece (about 1130), mesche (1393), meiche; spelt meche by the Académie until 1718.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French mece, inherited from Vulgar Latin *micca (“wick”),[3][4][5] a Gallo-Romance alteration, under the influence of Latin muccus (“mucus”), of Latin myxa (“lamp wick”),[3][4][6] which is from Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa, “mucus; lamp wick”).[3][4][5] The same image links the wick and the nose in moucher “to snuff (a candle); to blow (the nose)”, and eastern dialects again crossed “mèche” with “moucher”.[4][5] Rey connects the Greek word with the Indo-European root seen in moisir and moite.[4]

P. Guiraud proposed instead a crossing with a derivative of Latin misceō (“to mix”).[3][7] Italian miccia and Spanish mecha come from French.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman d'Eneas (about 1130–1160) has mece, a cord of hemp or other fibre coated with tallow or wax for candles, or soaked in oil for a lamp.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century it also named material prepared to catch fire easily, such as sulphured mesches (about 1393),[3] and then the slow match used to fire guns and mines.[2][8] The sappers' phrase éventer la mèche, “to find the enemy's mine with a countermine and remove its fuse” (about 1580), took the figurative sense “to uncover a plot” (1690), with découvrir la mèche (1594) and vendre la mèche “to give the game away” (1830);[3][9][4] Bloch and Wartburg note that the last phrase shows the literal sense had been forgotten.[5]

By likeness of shape the word named a strip of gauze for dressing wounds (1266, 1478), a lock of hair (about 1300), the bit of a drill (1676), a strand in the core of a rope (1691) and the cracker of a whip (1835).[3][4] The derivative éméché “tipsy” (1859–1866) is properly “with tousled hair”.[4][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Mece in the Eneas.[2]
  • 1266 – A strip of linen used in treating wounds.[3]
  • c. 1300 – A lock of hair.[3]
  • c. 1393 – Mesches ensouffrées in the Ménagier de Paris.[3]
  • c. 1580 – Esvanter la mesche.[3]
  • 1676 – A drill bit, in Félibien.[3]
  • 1830 – Vendre la mèche.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wick (of a candle or lamp).[10][11]
  2. A fuse (of an explosive): allumer la mèche, vendre la mèche: to let the cat out of the bag.[10][11]
  3. A lock or strand of hair; a streak: se faire faire des mèches.[12][1]
  4. A drill bit.[12][1]
  5. (medicine) A strip of gauze used as packing in a wound.[10][1]
  6. The cracker at the end of a whip.[12][1]

Word family

  • mécher
  • éméché
  • éméché
  • moucher
  • Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa)

Usage notes

The familiar être de mèche (avec qqn) “to be in league (with someone)” (1793) and il n'y a pas mèche “there's no way” (1808) belong to a second mèche (1791), first found in printers' slang.[4][10][9] Its origin is uncertain: Sainéan derived it from Provençal mech “half” and Esnault from Italian mezzo (“half; means”), both hard to accept on phonetic grounds, while Wartburg linked it to this word.[4][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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. 6/3, 323a
  7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mèche.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/m%C3%A8che. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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