Etymology and origin of the French word mil
mil1 thousand
Etymology tree of mil1
From the same root · mil1
Pronunciation
- /mil/[1]
Forms
mil (cardinal numeral, invariable), a variant of mille[2][3] Old French also had the plural forms milie (about 1100) and mile (about 1145), from which the spelling mille comes.[3][4]
Etymology
The word for the number thousand is inherited from Old French mil, inherited from Latin mille (“a thousand”), the Latin neuter singular.[4][3][5] The Latin plural mīlia gave the Old French plural milie, later mile and mille, which generally won out; it became a singular about 1360–1370 but took the pronunciation of the singular.[4][3][6] Rey notes that the Latin word has no known origin, and that it came to be treated as indeclinable, probably after decem and centum.[4]
Cognate with Occitan mil, Spanish mil, Portuguese mil and Italian mille.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, in the multiple cent mil, used for a very great number.[3] By about 1100 the Chanson de Roland has the singular mil for the number itself.[3][7]
Semantic evolution
From early on the forms mil and mille were used without distinction, and the spelling mil now has only a narrow use.[6] In dates of the Christian era the rule, set by Oudin and established in the 18th century, is to write mil before another number and mille at the end, as in l'an mil sept cent beside l'an deux mille, though writers do not always keep it; dates outside the Christian era always take mille.[3] Mil survives above all in l'an mil, the year 1000.[4]
Timeline
- c. 1050 – Cent mil “a great many” appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.[3]
- c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland has the singular mil for the number and the plural milie.[3][4]
- c. 1145 – Wace has the plural mile.[3]
- 1208 – Villehardouin writes the plural mille.[3][4]
- 1360–1370 – Mille is used as a singular, taking over from mil.[3][4]
- 18th century – The rule mil before another number in dates becomes established.[3]
Meanings
Numeral
mil2 millet
Etymology tree of mil2
Pronunciation
Forms
mil m (plural mils)[1]
Etymology
The word for millet is inherited from Latin milium (“millet”).[3][4][6][9] Rey notes that the Latin word is recorded from Cato, and that it is probably an Indo-European name of a cereal, found with different vowel grades in Greek, Lithuanian and Latin.[4] Littré reports the view that the Latin word is linked to mille (“a thousand”) because of the great number of its grains;[7] Meyer-Lübke explains in that way only the ⟨i⟩ of the Spanish and Portuguese words.[10]
Cognate with Italian miglio, Romanian mei, Old Occitan melh, Catalan mill, Spanish mijo and Portuguese milho.[10][7]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first recorded at the end of the 11th century in Rashi's glosses, naming millet, and then about 1265 in Brunetto Latini's Trésor.[3][2] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1282.[6]
Semantic evolution
Mil has survived only in western France and in the southern dialects; everywhere else it gave way to its derivative millet, recorded from 1256.[3][4][6] Littré in the 19th century already noted that millet was the more usual word, and recorded the saying c'est un grain de mil dans le bec d'un âne for a small gift to someone who needs much.[7]
In the French of Africa, and in speaking of Africa, it is the usual name for several food cereals: the small mils or millets, such as mil chandelle, and the large mils, which are sorghums.[4][11] Bière de mil is a drink made by fermenting the grain, and in Benin and Togo gagner son mil means to earn one's living.[4][11]
Timeline
- Late 11th century – Mil appears in Rashi's glosses.[3][2]
- 1256 – The derivative millet is first recorded.[4]
- c. 1265 – Brunetto Latini uses it in the Trésor.[3]
- 16th century – Montaigne tells of a man who could throw a grain de mil through the eye of a needle.[7]
Meanings
Noun
- (dated or regional) millet, a cereal grass with small grains, and its grain.[11][3][7]
- (Africa) Any of several cultivated cereals, millet or sorghum: gros mil is a sorghum, petit mil a millet.[11][8][3]
- Bière de mil: millet beer.[4][11]
- (Benin, Togo) Gagner son mil: to earn one's living.[11][4]
Word family
- millet
- grémil
Related words
Usage notes
The Grand Robert has a third mil, a small wooden club used in gymnastic exercises, recorded in 1878 in Larousse's Supplement and taken from Persian mail “hammer”; the Petit Robert dates it to 1850.[11][2][8]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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 c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 89a
- ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 83a
- ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Mil.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mil. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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