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normal

Etymology and origin of the French word normal

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1450–65, Charles d'Orléans (verbe normal)
Borrowed from
Latin normalis
Ultimate origin
Latin (nōrma)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin norma
French norme
English norm
Latin normalis
English normal
French normal

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /nɔʁ.mal/[1]

Forms

normal (feminine normale, masculine plural normaux, feminine plural normales)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nōrmālis (“made with a carpenter's square; conforming to the rule”), derived from nōrma (“carpenter's square; rule”) (see norme).[2][3][4][5][1] In “école normale” the adjective means “serving as a model”, after the Latin sense of “nōrma” “rule of conduct”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Charles d'Orléans' ballad (about 1450–65) speaks of a verbe normal, sans conjugacion, a regular verb; the word then disappeared until the 18th century.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

It was taken up again in geometry: ligne normale (1753) and the noun la normale (1759), a line perpendicular to a tangent.[2][3] The écoles normales for training teachers date from the Revolution (1790; decree of the year III), and l'École normale supérieure gave the slang Normale (1885) and normalien (1868).[2][3]

Under the influence of norme, in the 19th century it spread with the senses “serving as a rule” (1803) and “usual, conforming to the average” (1839, Balzac), and in medicine état normal (1823); the two ideas, quantitative and qualitative, are sometimes confused.[2][3] Ne pas être dans son état normal is recorded by the Académie in 1878, and retour à la normale from 1959.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1450–65 – Verbe normal, Charles d'Orléans.[2]
  • 1753 – Ligne normale in geometry.[2]
  • 1790 – Écoles normales.[2]
  • 1803 – “Serving as a rule”, Boiste.[2]
  • 1823 – In anatomy.[2]
  • 1839 – “Usual”, Balzac.[2]
  • 1868 – Normalien.[3]
  • 1959 – La normale, the average.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. normal, usual, ordinary: une journée normale, en temps normal, ce n'est pas normal.[1][7]
  2. In a healthy, balanced state: il n'est pas dans son état normal.[2][5]
  3. Natural, to be expected: c'est normal, fair enough, (familiar) okay.[1][5]
  4. École normale: a teacher-training college, École normale supérieure.[7][3]
  5. (mathematics) Perpendicular, loi normale, the normal distribution.[7]

Noun

  1. La normale: the norm, the average: au-dessus de la normale, retour à la normale, (geometry) a normal.[3][7]

Word family

  • normalement
  • normalité
  • normaliser
  • normalisation
  • normalien
  • anormal

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Normal.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/normal. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·