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mec

Etymology and origin of the French word mec

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Confidence
Unknown
First attested
1821 (mecque “chief”)

Pronunciation

Forms

mec m (plural mecs)[1] Early slang forms mecque (1821), mec (1827), mèque, meck and meg.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a slang word of obscure origin.[4][2][3] Pierre Guiraud saw in it the conjunction “mais que”, used as a noun in some dialects (Quercy “mesque” “motive”): a Monsieur Mecque, “Mr Important”, would have been formed like Mademoiselle J’Ordonne or Monsieur Veto.[4][2] Rey finds this ingenious and more likely than a derivation from Greek “mega” “great” or from an Egyptian Arabic “mek” “sultan”.[2] The sense “pimp” (1870) may be connected with the slang “mac”, short for maquereau, from which Wiktionary derives the word.[4][2][1] It may also be behind mégot.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as mecque “chief” in 1821 (Ansiaume); in 1827 mec means “God”, and Balzac reports le meg des megs.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

At first it meant a forceful man who acted as leader, used admiringly (quel mec !), and in 1882 a strong, tough fellow.[2][4] By 1848 it had weakened to “any individual”, and in 1870 it also meant a pimp.[4][2] Today it is a familiar equivalent of type, “guy, bloke”, and also “boyfriend”.[2][1] The diminutive mecton dates from 1888, and the verlan keum from 1982.[2]

Timeline

  • 1821 – Mecque “chief”.[4]
  • 1827 – Mec “God”.[4]
  • 1848 – “Any individual”.[4]
  • 1870 – “Pimp”.[4]
  • 1882 – “A tough fellow”.[4]
  • 1888 – Mecton.[2]
  • 1982 – The verlan keum.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (familiar) A guy, bloke, fellow.[1][2]
  2. (familiar) A boyfriend, husband: son mec.[1]
  3. (familiar) Man, mate (in address).[1]
  4. (obsolete slang) A pimp.[1][4]
  • mecton
  • keum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
Cite this entry

“Mec.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mec. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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