Etymologically
Log in

oiseau

Etymology and origin of the French word oiseau

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (oisel)
Inherited from
Latin aucellus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (avis)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /wa.zo/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /wa.zo/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /zwa.zo/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /zo.zo/[1]

Forms

oiseau m (plural oiseaux, feminine oiselle)[1] Old French oisel (1080), plural oiseaus (about 1165), whence the singular oiseau, oisiau in Brunetto Latini (about 1265), oiseau in Froissart (about 1360).[2][3][4] Oisel survived long in falconry.[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oisel, inherited from Late Latin aucellus (“bird”), a syncopated form of “*avicellus”, diminutive of avis (“bird”).[4][2][6][7][8][1] The simple “avis” survives in Romance only in Spanish ave and Portuguese ave; elsewhere fuller forms replaced it, though it remained as a generic word in compounds behind autruche and outarde.[2][6] “Avis” belongs to the Indo-European root “*aw-”, also seen in Sanskrit वि (ví), Old Armenian հաւ (haw, “bird”) and Ancient Greek αἰετός (aietós, “eagle”), Latin ōvum (“egg”) seems to be of the same group.[2]

Cognate with Italian uccello, Old Occitan auzel and Catalan aucell.[6][9] In northern dialects “oiseau” was often replaced, by moineau in the Centre and in Picard, and by “moisson” (properly “sparrow”) in Walloon.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) oisel is a bird: Plus est isnels que n'est oisel qui vole “he is swifter than a flying bird”.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

From the end of the 14th century, in Froissart, it was used of a person, often ironically, rare oiseau is in La Fontaine (1665), oiseau rare in Béranger (1829) and drôle d'oiseau in Delvau (1883).[4] Oiseau de passage meant a migratory bird in 1549 and a person who does not stay in 1675, and oiseau de mauvais augure became figurative in 1761, à vol d'oiseau “as the crow flies” is in Trévoux (1771).[2][3][4] Se donner des noms d'oiseaux, to call each other names, is recorded in 1872.[4] In Quebec être aux oiseaux means to be delighted.[2]

From 1358–59 oiseau was also a builder's hod for carrying mortar, and, from 1832 a roofer's trough, a sense probably influenced by auge.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Oisel, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1165 – The plural oiseaus, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[4]
  • 1358–59 – A builder's hod.[4]
  • c. 1360 – Oiseau, of a person, Froissart.[3]
  • 1665 – Rare oiseau, La Fontaine.[4]
  • 1771 – À vol d'oiseau.[4]
  • 1883 – Drôle d'oiseau.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bird: les oiseaux migrateurs, oiseau de proie.[10][1]
  2. (familiar, pejorative) A person, a fellow: un drôle d'oiseau, un oiseau rare, a rare person, un oiseau de passage.[3][4]
  3. À vol d'oiseau: as the crow flies.[4][2]
  4. (technical) A builder's hod for carrying mortar.[4][5]
  5. In names of birds: oiseau-mouche, a hummingbird, oiseau-lyre, a lyrebird, oiseau de paradis.[2]

Word family

  • oiselet
  • oisillon
  • oiseleur
  • oiselier
  • oisellerie
  • oiselle
  • oiseau-mouche
  • oiseau-lyre
  • oie
  • autruche
  • outarde
  • aviaire
  • Latin avis

Usage notes

The proverb petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid is recorded by Furetière in 1690.[3] In Belgian French un oiseau pour le chat is a frail person.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 776a
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Oiseau.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/oiseau. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·