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niche

Etymology and origin of the French word niche

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French niche
English niche

The Robert dictionaries distinguish niche “prank”, of uncertain origin, from niche “recess, kennel”, from nicher or Italian nicchia.[1][2][3]

niche1 prank

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1295

Pronunciation

Forms

niche f (plural niches)[4]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[5][1] It may be the noun of an old verb “niger”, “nicher” “to act the fool, waste one's time” (from 1567 to 1611, alive in Champagne and Hainaut), a sense some explain by the long work of building a nest; or a hypercorrect pronunciation of nique, taken for a Picard form, as Littré held, while Guiraud saw in it a “*negica”, from “*negicare”, from Latin negāre (“to deny”) (see nier).[5][1][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert and Petit Robert date it to 1295, the GLLF to the early 13th century (Roman de Renart); Rey to the 16th century.[1][2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

It names a mischievous trick, usually without malice (Balzac: une bonne niche que Madame a faite à Monsieur); the word has become old-fashioned.[5][6][2]

Timeline

  • 1295 – First record.[1]
  • 1567–1611 – The verb niger.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated) A prank, trick: faire des niches à qqn.[2][7]

niche2 recess, kennel

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1395, accounts of Ypres

Pronunciation

Forms

niche f (plural niches)[4]

Etymology

It is either the noun of nicher (“to nest”) (so the FEW, Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and Wiktionary, from “*nīdicāre”, from Latin nīdus (“nest”)), or a borrowing of the architectural term Italian nicchia, influenced by “nicher”.[8][5][1][4] The Italian word is recorded only from the 15th century (“nicchio”, Filarete, Medieval Latin of Italy “nichia”, 1467–1471); it comes from “nicchio” “shell” (early 14th century), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Latin “*onicula”, a kind of mollusc, from “onycha” (see onyx).[8][5] Diez, followed by Littré, took “nicchio” from Latin mytilus (“mussel”); the REW derives “nicchia” itself from “*nidiculare” “to nest”.[3][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The accounts of the town of Ypres (1395) have it for a recess made in a wall for a statue.[8][5]

Semantic evolution

It long remained a term of architecture and decoration, extended to a recess for a piece of furniture (Mme de Motteville, 1666–1689).[8][5] In 1697 it took the everyday sense “dog kennel”, whence the familiar, now dated “refuge, home” (Voltaire, 1760).[8][5] The idea of a hollow gave a natural shelter (1836) and in medicine a cavity at an ulcer (niche ulcéreuse, about 1950).[5] Niche écologique is from English niche (1927), itself from French, as are the economic niche de marché and niche fiscale.[5][2] English niche was borrowed in the 1610s.[10]

Timeline

  • 1395 – A recess for a statue.[8]
  • 1610s – English niche.[10]
  • 1666–1689 – A recess for furniture.[8]
  • 1697 – A dog kennel.[8]
  • 1760 – “Refuge”, in Voltaire.[8]
  • 1927 – The ecological niche (in English).[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A niche, recess (in a wall): une statue dans une niche.[2][7]
  2. An alcove, nook.[2]
  3. A kennel: à la niche !.[2][4]
  4. (ecology) Niche écologique: ecological niche.[2][4]
  5. (economics) A niche market, niche fiscale: tax loophole.[2][7]

Word family

  • nicher
  • chenil
  • nid
  • nique
  • English niche

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Niche.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/niche. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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