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molaire

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Etymology and origin of the French word molaire

molaire1 molar tooth

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1478 Chauliac, Guidon
Borrowed from
Latin molaris
Ultimate origin
Latin mola
Etymology tree of molaire1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mola
Aromanian moarã
French meule
Italian mola
Romanian moară
Spanish muela
Latin molāris
English molar
French molaire
From the same root · molaire1
Latin immolō ← mola
Latin molārius ← mola
Latin molīnus ← mola
Romanian morar ← mola

Pronunciation

Forms

molaire f (plural molaires)[1]

Etymology

The word for the molar is borrowed from Latin molāris (“of a mill”), used with dēns (“tooth”) for a millstone-shaped tooth, a derivative of mola (“millstone”).[2][3][4][1] Old Occitan already had the adjective and the noun molar in the 13th century.[2][3] Its inherited relative is meule1, the word for a millstone.[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1478, in the French Guidon of Guy de Chauliac, for a tooth that grinds food.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was first an adjective in dents molaires;[6][7] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1503.[6][7] About 1560 Ambroise Paré used it as a noun: Les grosses maxillaires ou molaires… pilent, brisent et menuisent ce qui a esté taillé par les incisives (“the big jaw teeth or molars pound, break and crush what the incisors have cut”).[5][3] The adjective is now dated, and the noun is the usual word.[4] prémolaire, the tooth in front of the molar, is recorded in 1859.[3]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Old Occitan has dent molar.[2][3]
  • 1478 – First recorded, in the Guidon of Guy de Chauliac.[2]
  • 1503 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the word.[7]
  • c. 1560 – Paré uses it as a noun.[6][3]
  • 1762 – First recorded in the Académie's dictionary.[2]
  • 1859 – Prémolaire appears.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A molar, one of the large back teeth that grind food.[8][9][2]

Adjective

  1. (dated) Dent molaire: a molar tooth.[4][5]

Word family

  • prémolaire
  • molariforme

molaire2 chemistry: relating to the mole

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1956
Ultimate origin
German Mol

Pronunciation

Forms

molaire (plural molaires)[1]

Etymology

The chemistry word is formed from French mole + -aire.[2][4][1] mole, the unit, is from German Mol, introduced by Wilhelm Ostwald in 1900.[3] English molar in this sense is recorded in 1902.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record for the chemistry sense is solution molaire, in 1956.[2]

Semantic evolution

Rey dates the word to the early 20th century, with a query, and the Grand Robert to the mid-20th century.[3][4] Its derivative molarité, the number of moles of solute in a litre of solution, is recorded in 1954.[2]

Timeline

  • 1900 – Ostwald introduces German Mol.[3]
  • 1954 – The derivative molarité is recorded.[2]
  • 1956 – Solution molaire is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (chemistry) molar: relating to the mole, or said of a quantity measured per mole: masse molaire, fraction molaire.[10][9][2]

Word family

  • molarité

Usage notes

The Grand Robert's molaire 3 (also numbered 3 in the Petit Robert and the Grand Larousse) is a philosophy adjective meaning “taken as a whole”, the opposite of “molecular”; it is recorded in 1921 in Meyerson and is a learned derivative of Latin mōles (“mass”).[4][8][6] The TLFi dates this use to 1907.[2] The Robert also has môlaire, relating to a môle of the womb, as in grossesse môlaire.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Molaire.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/molaire. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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