Etymologically
Log in

nuage

Etymology and origin of the French word nuage

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1564, Jean Thierry
Ultimate origin
Latin (nubes)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ny.aʒ/[1]
  • IPA: /nɥaʒ/[1]

Forms

nuage m (plural nuages)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French nue + -age, and replaced nue and nuée in common use;[2][3][4][1] it is also the main word in the northern dialects, beside the older noun and crossed forms.[4] That noun continues Vulgar Latin *nūba, from Latin nūbēs (“cloud”), which survives as Old Occitan niu and Portuguese nuvem; the derivative nūbilum gave Italian nuvolo and Spanish nublo.[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Thierry's French–Latin dictionary (1564) records it as a weather term, “cloud”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Figurative uses came quickly: what clouds the sight or the mind (Desportes, 1576), a dimming of sight from fatigue or emotion (Régnier, 1619), what threatens serenity (Montchrestien, 1604: Tout nuage d'ennui de vos ames s'escarte) and what troubles harmony between people (Bossuet, 1669).[2] Nuage de poussière is in Fénelon's Télémaque,[2][7] and nuage de lait, a drop of milk in tea, in Musset (1840).[2] Être dans les nuages “to be absent-minded” is in Michelet (1847), and ciel sans nuage in Larousse (1874).[2][7] The adjective nuageux is recorded earlier than the noun, in 1549.[4]

Timeline

  • 1549 – Nuageux.[4]
  • 1564 – Nuage in Jean Thierry.[2]
  • 1576 – Figuratively, what clouds the mind.[2]
  • 1669 – A disagreement between people, in Bossuet.[2]
  • 1717 – Nuage de poussière (Fénelon).[2]
  • 1840 – Nuage de lait, in Musset.[2]
  • 1847 – Dans les nuages, in Michelet.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cloud: nuages de grêle, de pluie, ciel chargé de nuages.[8][1]
  2. A cloud (of dust, smoke): nuage de poussière.[2][7]
  3. Nuage de lait: a drop of milk (in tea or coffee).[2][7]
  4. Être dans les nuages: to be absent-minded, daydreaming.[2]
  5. (figurative) A shadow, a threat to happiness or harmony: ciel sans nuage.[2][7]

Word family

  • nuageux
  • nue
  • nuée
  • nuance

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 o p 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 219a
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Nuage.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/nuage. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·