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marche

Etymology and origin of the French word marche

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French marcher
French marche

French has two words spelled marche: the march or border province, from Germanic *marka, and the walk or step, derived from the verb marcher.[1][2][3]

marche1 border province

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Borrowed from
Frankish *marka
Ultimate origin
Frankish (*marka)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /maʁʃ/[4]

Forms

marche f (plural marches)[4]

Etymology

The border province is borrowed from Frankish *marka (“boundary, border”), a Germanic word for a sign marking a limit, reconstructed from Old High German marcha, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌺𐌰 (marka) and Old English mearc.[1][2][5][6][7] From the 8th century Medieval Latin had “marcha”, “marca” “limit, frontier”, and in particular a frontier region under a marquis.[5][2] Littré noted that it is the same word as marque.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) the marches are the frontier provinces of a state: Il est mes fils, et si tiendra mes marches.[5][8]

Semantic evolution

Historically it named a military district on the edge of a hostile country, ruled by margraves or marquises, as in les marches de Lorraine; by extension, any border region.[2][6] In Old French it also meant simply a region, a country (1212).[2] Its governor was the marchis (1080–1524), replaced by marquis, borrowed from Italian.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Marches, Chanson de Roland.[5]
  • 1212 – A region, a country.[2]
  • 1225 – Marquis, from Italian.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (historical) A march, a frontier province or military border district: les marches de Lorraine.[3][6]
  2. A border region on the edge of a country.[2][6]

marche2 walk; step

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
c. 1354–60 (step of a stair)
Ultimate origin
Frankish (*markōn)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /maʁʃ/[4]

Forms

marche f (plural marches)[4]

Etymology

The walk is a deverbal noun from French marcher (“to walk”).[1][6][9][3] “Marcher” meant “to trample” in Old French, Bloch and Wartburg derive it from Frankish *markōn (“to mark, imprint (a footstep)”).[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The concrete sense comes first: about 1360 a marche is the part of a stair on which the foot is placed; in hunting the marches are an animal's tracks (1376).[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century marche “stair” supplanted degré.[2] It also named the treadles of a loom (1514) and the keys of an organ (1547).[2] The active sense “walking, moving on foot” is found only from 1508, following the change in the verb; it was applied to troops (1611), whence a military march as music (1718).[2] It named the movement of a group (1690), later a demonstration or procession, such as the March on Rome (1922) or the Long March (1934–35).[2] The movement of pieces in a game (1718), of a star (1736) and of a ship or vehicle (1798) followed, and figuratively the working of a machine or business: en état de marche, la marche des affaires.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1360 – The step of a stair.[2]
  • 1376 – An animal's tracks.[2]
  • 1508 – The act of walking.[2]
  • 1611 – The march of troops.[2]
  • 1718 – A military march (music).[2]
  • 1798 – The running of a vehicle.[2]
  • 1932 – Race walking at the Olympic Games.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Walking: faire de la marche, une heure de marche; a walk.[11][4]
  2. A march of troops; a procession, demonstration: une marche pour la paix, ouvrir, fermer la marche.[4][2]
  3. (music) A march: marche funèbre.[4][2]
  4. The movement, running of a vehicle or machine: en marche, marche arrière, reverse, mettre en marche.[4][2]
  5. The working, progress of something: la marche des affaires, marche à suivre, the procedure.[2][4]
  6. A step of a stair: les marches de l'escalier.[4][11]

Word family

  • marchette
  • contremarche
  • marchepied

References

  1. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 522b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 528a
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Marche.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/marche. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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