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myrtille

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Etymology and origin of the French word myrtille

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1256 Aldebrandin de Sienne, Régime du corps More words from the 13th century
Borrowed from
Latin myrtillus
Ultimate origin
Latin myrtus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek μύρτος (múrtos)
Latin myrtus
French myrte
Latin myrtillus
English myrtle
French myrtille
The word's journey
From the same root
Latin myrteus ← μύρτος

Pronunciation

Forms

myrtille f (plural myrtilles)[1] Earlier spellings were mertille (about 1256), mirtille (13th century) and mirtil;[2][3][4] myrtille is found from 1565.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin myrtillus (“bilberry”), recorded in 1250,[2][1][3] a diminutive of Latin myrtus (“myrtle”).[3][5][6] Larousse derives it from myrte.[7] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1747, with an isolated earlier record.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as mertille about 1256 in Aldebrandin of Siena's Régime du corps, a medical treatise.[2][4] Rey notes that the word was often used in medical treatises from the 13th to the 15th century because of the properties ascribed to the berries.[3]

Semantic evolution

The same word names both the shrub and its fruit.[3][2] The berry is also called brimbelle in eastern France and luce in Brittany, while in North America the related berries are called bleuet.[3][2] In Belgium the shrub is called myrtillier.[3] The TLFi notes an older masculine use, found in Chateaubriand.[2]

Timeline

  • 1250 – Medieval Latin myrtillus is recorded.[2]
  • c. 1256 – Mertille appears in Aldebrandin of Siena.[2][4]
  • 13th century – The form mirtilles is found in Platearius' Livre des simples médecines.[2]
  • 1565 – The spelling myrtilles appears in Vallambert.[2][4]
  • 1931 – The sense “berry” is recorded by Larousse.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The bilberry, a mountain shrub of the heath family, a kind of airelle.[2][6][7]
  2. Its edible blue-black berry, used for jam, syrup and spirits: un sorbet aux myrtilles.[2][6][9]

Usage notes

The myrtille is called by many regional names, among them brimbelle and raisin des bois.[6][7]

References

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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Myrtille.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/myrtille. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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