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maïs

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Etymology and origin of the French word maïs

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1525 French translation of Pigafetta's voyage More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Spanish maíz
Ultimate origin
Taíno mahís
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Spanish maíz
French maïs

Pronunciation

  • /ma.is/[1]
  • Variant: /majs/[1]
  • Archaic: /ma.i/[1]

Forms

maïs m (uncountable)[1] Earlier spellings were maiz (1519), maizi (1533) and mais (1568).[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish maíz,[2][3][4][1] which Spanish took from Taíno mahís, the word of the Taíno, an Arawakan people of Haiti, where it must have had the form ⟨mahiz⟩ recorded in 1555.[2][3][1][5] The word is found in Latin in 1493 and in Spanish in 1500.[2][3]

The dates of the first French records differ: the DHLF and the Grand Robert have ⟨maiz⟩ from 1519, the TLFi cites it about 1525 as a native word in a translation of Pigafetta's voyage, and the GLLF takes ⟨maiz⟩ from 1529 and ⟨maïs⟩ from 1544.[3][6][2][7] Bloch and Wartburg date ⟨maïs⟩ to 1545.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1525 the French translation of Pigafetta's account of the Spanish voyage to the Moluccas cites maiz as the native name of a cereal plant.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Maize spread throughout the Americas before the Spanish brought it to Spain, whence it spread quickly through Europe;[3][4] Jacques Cartier saw it by the Saint Lawrence in 1535.[3][4] The dialects of France gave it many other names, among them blé de Turquie, blé d'Espagne and blé d'Inde, and in the south words of the type of mil2.[3][4] Blé d'Inde is old-fashioned in France but still common in Quebec.[3]

At first an exotic word, maïs grew in importance as the crop was grown more widely in the 19th and especially the 20th century.[3] It was used for maize flour from 1588,[7] and as a colour adjective for an orange-blond shade from 1848.[3] The English word maize came from Spanish in the 1550s.[8]

Timeline

  • 1493 – The word is recorded in Latin.[2][3]
  • 1500 – It is recorded in Spanish.[2][3]
  • 1519 – The form maiz appears in French.[3][6]
  • c. 1525 – Maiz is cited as a native word in the translation of Pigafetta.[2]
  • 1533 – The form maizi appears in a translation of Peter Martyr.[2]
  • 1544 – The spelling maïs is first recorded.[6][7]
  • 1555 – The Taíno form mahiz is cited in a translation of Oviedo.[2]
  • 1568 – Mais appears in Fumée's translation of López de Gómara.[2]
  • 1588 – It is used for maize flour.[7]
  • 1848 – It is used as an adjective of colour.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. maize, corn: a cereal plant from the Americas with large leaves and long ears bearing rows of hard grains.[2][9][1]
  2. The grain of this plant, eaten by people and animals: des poulets nourris au maïs.[9][10]
  3. Maize flour.[7][10]

Adjective

  1. Of a pale orange-yellow, the colour of maize.[3][11]

Word family

  • maïserie
  • maïsiculture
  • maïsicole

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 20, 70b
  6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  11. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Maïs.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ma%C3%AFs. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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