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ouest

Etymology and origin of the French word ouest

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1140, Geffrei Gaimar
Borrowed from
Old English west
Ultimate origin
Old English (west)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /wɛst/[1]

Forms

ouest m (invariable)[1] West (about 1140), ouest from 1379; the Académie wrote oüest in 1694, Rabelais has westen.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old English west (“west”) (English west),[2][3][4][5] found as an adverb from the 9th century and as a noun from the 12th, corresponding to German and Dutch “West”, “Westen”;[2][3] these words belong to an Indo-European root also found in Ancient Greek ἕσπερος (hésperos, “evening”) and Latin vesper (“evening”) (see vêpres).[3] Wiktionary notes that the French compass points came from English rather than Dutch or Norse.[1]

Italian ovest, Spanish oeste and Portuguese oeste come from French.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis (about 1140) has west for the direction and the place where the sun sets.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1379 Jehan de Brie uses ouest for the wind from the west, and Rabelais has it in compounds (vent Ouest Norouest, 1552).[2][3] Like the other compass points of English origin, ouest was long confined to the language of science and the sea; in everyday and literary use people said occident, ponant and couchant.[3]

In 1817 Mme de Staël used l'Ouest for the western regions of France, and in 1946 Abellio for the Western countries, as opposed to the socialist East before 1990.[2][3] In North America l'Ouest is the region of the plains and the Rockies (la conquête de l'Ouest).[3][6] Familiar être à l'ouest means “to be out of it”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1140 – West in Gaimar.[2]
  • 1379 – Ouest “west wind”.[2]
  • 1534 – Westen in Rabelais.[2]
  • 1817 – L'Ouest of France, in Mme de Staël.[2]
  • 1946 – The Western countries.[2]
  • c. 1950 – Ouest-allemand.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The west: le soleil se couche à l'ouest, vent d'ouest.[6][7]
  2. (capitalised) The western part of a country: l'Ouest de la France, la conquête de l'Ouest.[6][8]
  3. (capitalised) The West, the Western countries.[6][7]
  4. (familiar) Être à l'ouest: to be out of it, spaced out.[7]

Adjective

  1. West, western: la côte ouest.[7][6]

Word family

  • ouest-allemand
  • nord-ouest
  • sud-ouest

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 572a
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

  • étai · also from Old English
  • sud · also from Old English
  • nord · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Ouest.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ouest. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·