Etymologically
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môme

Etymology and origin of the French word môme

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Onomatopoeia
First attested
1821, Desgranges

Pronunciation

Forms

môme m or f by sense (plural mômes)[1]

Etymology

The origin is not settled:[2][3] the TLFi, following Bloch and Wartburg and the FEW, takes it as probably formed on an expressive stem imitating the first sounds a child makes;[2][4] Rey finds the same stem in marmonner and perhaps in the word for a masquerade.[5] The Petit Robert calls it of unknown origin.[6] The Grand Robert mentions a link with momon (“mask”) and momier (“grimacer”), the child seen as a little monkey, and Pierre Guiraud's derivation from a stem meaning “to suck”.[3] Littré connected it with momerie, from a 16th-century line of Du Bellay where the word seems to mean mockers.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Desgranges records it in 1821, in his little dictionary of popular speech, for a young boy or adolescent; the same year a list of the slang of the Brest prison uses it for children in relation to their parents.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In old slang it also meant a newborn child, hence faire couler or descendre le môme “to have an abortion”, and in 1841 a young homosexual.[5][2] The feminine la môme meant a girl from 1845, and, with a possessive, a man's mistress from 1864.[2][5] As an adjective (il est encore tout môme, very young) it dates from 1834.[6][8] The 19th century coined several expressive derivatives, all now gone (momacque, momignard), except mominette (1880) “little girl”, later a small glass of absinthe (1894) and a small bottle of white wine.[5]

Timeline

  • 1821 – A boy, in Desgranges; children of a family, in the slang of the Brest prison.[2]
  • 1834 – Used as an adjective.[8][6]
  • 1845 – La môme, a girl.[2][8]
  • 1864 – A mistress.[2]
  • 1935 – Recorded by the Académie.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (familiar) A kid, a child: une petite môme de cinq ans, sales mômes ![6][9]
  2. (familiar, feminine, dated) A girl, a young woman: une belle môme.[6][9]
  3. (familiar, dated) Sa môme: a man's girlfriend or mistress.[6][9]

Adjective

  1. (familiar) Very young: elle est encore toute môme.[6][10]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 60b
  5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Môme.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/m%C3%B4me. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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