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neuf

Etymology and origin of the French word neuf

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Latin novem
French neuf

neuf1 nine

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1119, Philippe de Thaon, Comput (nof)
Inherited from
Latin novem via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₁néwn̥)

Pronunciation

Forms

neuf (invariable)[1] Old French nof and nuef (Chrétien de Troyes); neuf from the 13th century.[2][3]

Etymology

The numeral is inherited from Old French nuef, inherited from Latin novem (“nine”).[3][4][5][1][6] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥;[1] it matches Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽 (niun) and, with an alteration, Ancient Greek ἐννέα (ennéa), the source of “ennéa-” in French learned words.[4] Its final nasal was originally /n/, as the ordinal nōnus (“ninth”) shows.[4]

Cognate with Romanian nouă, Catalan nou, Spanish nueve and Portuguese nove.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) has nof, and vint e nof “twenty-nine”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Furetière (1690) records it as a noun for the figure and for a playing card (un neuf de cœur), and in 1675 Madame de Sévigné writes of a woman dans son neuf, in the ninth month of her pregnancy.[3][8] It is also used as an ordinal (Louis IX, page neuf).[2] Music has had measures such as neuf-huit since 1803.[4]

From the 1980s the Paris suburban départements numbered 91 to 95 came to be called neuf-un … neuf-cinq, above all le neuf-trois for Seine-Saint-Denis.[4] The derived ordinal neuvième (1140) replaced Old French nuefme.[4][5]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Nof in Philippe de Thaon.[3]
  • 1140 – The ordinal neuvième.[4]
  • 13th century – The form neuf.[2]
  • 1675 – Être dans son neuf in Madame de Sévigné.[3][8]
  • 1690 – The noun, in Furetière.[3]
  • 1980s – Le neuf-trois for Seine-Saint-Denis.[4]

Meanings

Numeral

  1. nine: neuf ans, les neuf Muses.[9][10]
  2. Ninth, in dates, page numbers and names of rulers: Louis IX, le neuf juin.[9][2]

Noun

  1. The number or figure nine; a playing card marked with nine pips: le neuf de cœur.[10][2]
  2. Preuve par neuf: casting out nines, (figurative) conclusive proof.[10]
  3. (familiar) Le neuf-trois: Seine-Saint-Denis.[4]

Word family

  • neuvième
  • neuvaine

neuf2 new

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (nous)
Inherited from
Latin novus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*néwos)

Pronunciation

Forms

neuf (feminine neuve, masculine plural neufs, feminine plural neuves)[1] Old French nous (late 10th century) and nuef (1170); neuf from 1480 according to Rey, the 13th century according to the GLLF.[4][2]

Etymology

The adjective “new” is inherited from Old French nuef, inherited from Latin novus (“new; recent”).[3][4][5][1][11] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *néwos and is related to Ancient Greek νέος (néos), Sanskrit नव (náva), Lithuanian naujas, German neu and English new.[1][4][9] Gaulish “*nouiios” survives in place names such as Neuilly, Nogent and Nevers.[9]

Cognate with Romanian nou, Italian nuovo, Occitan nou, Catalan nou, Spanish nuevo and Portuguese novo.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

As nous it is found in the Passion de Clermont (late 10th century), with the sense it still has, “not yet used”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

De neuf “with something new” is recorded in 1170, as in habiller de neuf (1636), while à neuf “so as to look new” dates from 1585.[4] By 1200 it meant “new compared with what existed before”, overlapping with nouveau, as in terre neuve; in 1208 “original, done for the first time”; and in the 16th and 17th centuries “untouched by passion” (1560) and “inexperienced” (1606), senses now archaic.[4] Villon has quoy de neuf ? “what's new?”, and the noun le neuf “what is new” is from 1808.[12][4]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Nous in the Passion de Clermont.[2]
  • 1170 – De neuf.[4]
  • 1200 – “New compared with what existed”.[4]
  • 15th century – Quoy de neuf ? in Villon.[12]
  • 1585 – À neuf.[4]
  • 1606 – “Inexperienced”.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. new, not yet used, unworn: une voiture neuve, à l'état neuf.[3][1]
  2. Recently made or built: une maison neuve, un quartier neuf.[3]
  3. Fresh, original: une idée neuve.[4]
  4. (dated) (of a person) inexperienced.[4]
  5. Faire peau neuve: to change completely.[3]

Noun

  1. Something new: faire du neuf avec du vieux, quoi de neuf ?, what's new?[10][4]
  2. À neuf: as new: remettre à neuf, de neuf: in new clothes.[10]

Usage notes

The numeral is pronounced [nœv] before ans and heures (neuf ans, neuf heures); the older usage of dropping the /f/ before a consonant, still given by Littré and the Académie in 1935, has gone.[3][13][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 207b
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 210b
  12. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  13. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Neuf.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/neuf. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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