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nœud

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Etymology and origin of the French word nœud

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1119 Philippe de Thaon, Comput More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin nodus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin nōdus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nōdus
French nœud
Italian nodo
Romanian nod
English node
From the same root
Latin ēnōdis ← nōdus
Latin nōdō ← nōdus
Latin nōdōsus ← nōdus

Pronunciation

Forms

nœud m (plural nœuds)[1] Old French nut (about 1119) and neu (about 1175); neud in 1530, nœud from 1606.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French neu, inherited from Latin nōdus (“knot, joint, bond, difficulty”).[5][4][1][6] The final ⟨d⟩ was restored in the 16th century as an etymological spelling after the Latin word, and is not pronounced.[7][4][2][8]

Rey traces the Latin word to an Indo-European root meaning “to bind”, also seen in the older Latin verb nectō (“to tie, bind”);[4] Wiktionary instead derives it from Proto-Indo-European *gned- (“to bind”), and Littré already explained the Latin word as standing for an earlier *gnodus, comparing English knot, German Knoten and Old High German chnodo.[1][8] Cognate with Italian nodo, Spanish nudo, Portuguese nó, Catalan nus and Old Occitan not.[8][7][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) has nut in the sense of a tight interlacing of threads, a knot.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old French the word was used of a knot-shaped ornament on clothing (Chrétien de Troyes, 1171–1190), later nœud de cravate (1690);[5][4] of a bond between people (about 1175);[5][4] and of a swelling in the body, such as the first vertebra (1213) and the Adam's apple (neu de la gorge, 1314), or of a knot in a tree trunk (late 13th century).[5][4] From about 1470 it was the crux of a complex matter, hence the plot of a play (1638) and a difficulty (1655).[5][4] Nœud gordien (Ronsard, 1552) refers to the knot that Alexander the Great cut.[4]

In navigation a nœud became a unit of speed (1721), after the knots tied at fixed intervals on the log line, hence filer trois nœuds (1797);[5][4] in technical use it named the nodes of astronomy (1690), mathematics (1765) and acoustics (1768), a junction of mountain chains (1840) and of communication routes.[5][10] In slang it means the penis (1832), and also a stupid person.[4][1]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Nut “knot” in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.[5][2]
  • c. 1175 – Neu used of a bond between people.[5][4]
  • 1213 – Neu de l'eschine names the first vertebra.[5]
  • c. 1470 – Used for the crux of an affair.[5][4]
  • 1530 – The spelling neud appears.[3][2]
  • 1552 – Nœud gordien in Ronsard.[4]
  • 1606 – The spelling nœud is recorded.[2]
  • 1638 – Used of the plot of a play.[5]
  • 1721 – The Trévoux dictionary records the nautical unit of speed.[5][4]
  • 1832 – Slang sense “penis”.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A knot in a string, rope or thread, or one tying two of them together: faire un nœud, nœud coulant.[9][10][1]
  2. A bow or ornament of knotted fabric or ribbon: nœud papillon.[10][9][1]
  3. (nautical) A knot, a unit of speed of one nautical mile per hour.[1][5]
  4. A coil of a snake around itself or something else.[10][5]
  5. A junction of routes or lines: nœud ferroviaire.[10]
  6. (literary) A bond or tie between people.[10][5]
  7. The crux of a question, the core of a difficulty, or the plot of a play or story: le nœud gordien.[10][5]
  8. A knot in wood, or a swollen joint on a plant stem.[5][9]
  9. (physics, astronomy, music, computing) A node.[1][10]
  10. (vulgar slang) The glans of the penis, and an insult for a stupid person.[10][1]

Word family

  • nouet
  • nœud papillon
  • nœud coulant
  • sac de nœuds
  • tête de nœud
  • supernœud
  • dénouer
  • énouer
  • nouer
  • noueur
  • noueux
  • renouer
  • nodule
  • Latin nōdus

Usage notes

Avoir un nœud à la gorge, first “to have a rope round one's neck”, came to mean having something one cannot swallow or accept.[8][5] Sac de nœuds is a familiar phrase for a tangled affair.[4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  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 m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 171a
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Nœud.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/n%C5%93ud. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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