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mammaire

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Etymology and origin of the French word mammaire

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1654 Théophile Gelée, L'Anatomie française More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mamma
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French mammaire
English mammary

Pronunciation

Forms

mammaire (plural mammaires)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned derivative from French mamm- + -aire, the element mamm- being taken from Latin mamma (“breast, teat”).[2][3][4] Wiktionary likewise analyses it as the Latin noun with the suffix -aire.[1] The inherited word from the same Latin source is mamelle.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1654 in Théophile Gelée's L'Anatomie française, as an anatomical term meaning “relating to the breasts”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It has stayed a term of anatomy.[4] The phrase glande mammaire “mammary gland” is recorded by Littré (1867),[3] who also gives a botanical use for vessels running in the cotyledons.[6] As a feminine noun, mammaire interne and mammaire externe name the two arteries of the chest wall that end at the breasts (Larousse, 1931).[3][2] In the 20th century the Latin mamma also gave the element mammo-, as in mammographie (1945).[4]

Timeline

  • 1654 – Théophile Gelée uses it in L'Anatomie française.[2][5]
  • 1867 – Littré records glande mammaire.[3]
  • 1931 – Larousse records the noun for the mammary arteries.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (anatomy) Relating to the breast or udder, mammary: glande mammaire, the mammary gland.[7][2][8]

Noun

  1. (anatomy) Mammaire interne or mammaire externe: either of the two arteries of the chest wall leading to the breasts.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Mammaire.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mammaire. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·