Etymology tree
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ma.lœʁ/[1]
Forms
malheur m (plural malheurs)[1] Old French mal eür in the phrase a mal eür “unluckily” (from the mid-12th century); malheur as one word before 1526.[2][3][4]
Etymology
It is a compound from French mal + heur, “bad luck”, from the adjective “mal” “bad” and the old noun heur “luck, fortune”.[2][3][4][1][5] “Heur”, Old French “aür”, “eür”, comes from Latin agurium, an altered form of augurium (“omen”), which with the decline of pagan beliefs came to mean fate, good or bad.[6][7] “Heur” went out of use in the 17th century, replaced by “malheur” and bonheur.[7][6]
Old French also had “malheurté”.[5] Compare Old Occitan malahur.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Roman de Renart (1174–1200) has mal eür, a cruel stroke of fate: c'an cel por n'avrez mal eür “that you shall have no misfortune for it”.[2][6]
Semantic evolution
Written as one word, malheur is an unhappy event in Jean Marot (before 1526), and in Clément Marot (1529) a painful situation and bad luck in general.[2][6] The proverb à quelque chose malheur est bon “every cloud has a silver lining” dates from 1569 and is in La Fontaine (1668).[6][8] Porter malheur is in Guez de Balzac (1632), malheur à in Boileau (1660), pour mon malheur in Racine (1670) and the interjection malheur ! in Molière (1673).[2][6]
De malheur after a noun, “cursed”, is recorded in 1661 and in Dancourt (1697).[6][2][8] Faire un malheur (1867) first meant to make a scene with dire consequences; in theatre slang it came, by antiphrasis, to mean a resounding success.[6][4]
Timeline
- 1174–1200 – Mal eür, Roman de Renart.[2]
- before 1526 – Malheur, an unhappy event, Jean Marot.[2]
- 1529 – A painful situation, Clément Marot.[2]
- 1569 – À quelque chose malheur est bon.[6]
- 1632 – Porter malheur.[2]
- 1673 – The interjection malheur !, Molière.[2]
- 1867 – Faire un malheur.[6][4]
Meanings
Noun
- A misfortune, a calamity: un grand malheur, un malheur est si vite arrivé.[9][1]
- Unhappiness, adversity; bad luck: le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres, par malheur, unfortunately.[9][1][2]
- Porter malheur: to bring bad luck, oiseau de malheur, a bird of ill omen.[2][1]
- De malheur (after a noun): cursed, wretched.[2][8]
- Faire un malheur: to do something rash, (familiar) to be a smash hit.[6][4]
- Malheur ! Alas!, malheur à…, woe to…[2][6]
Word family
- malheureux
- malheureusement
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
- ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Derived terms
Cite this entry
“Malheur.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/malheur. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
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