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péter

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Etymology and origin of the French word péter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1380 Aalma More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin pēditum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French pet
French péter

Pronunciation

Forms

péter[1] The Académie spelled it peter from 1694 to 1798.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from French pet + -er.[2][3][1] It replaced the Old French verb poire (about 1190), which lasted until the 15th century and was the regular outcome of Latin pēdō (“to break wind”), as cadō gave choir.[2][4][5] The noun comes from pēditum.[5]

Compare Occitan petar, Portuguese peidar and Catalan petar, which was borrowed into Spanish.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1380 in the Latin–French glossary Aalma, meaning “to break wind”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb has stayed vulgar or familiar and gave many phrases: péter plus haut que son cul “to be pretentious” (1640) and péter dans la soie “to live in luxury” (1878).[2][4] In the 16th century it took the senses “to crackle” of wood in the fire (1546) and “to burst, to explode” (1585), probably under the influence of pétard.[2][4]

From these came péter dans la main de quelqu'un “to fail suddenly” (end of the 17th century), péter de santé “to be bursting with health” (1797) and il faut que ça pète ou que ça dise pourquoi (1881), a resolve to settle a difficulty at any cost.[4][2] The transitive sense “to break” and phrases such as péter les plombs “to lose control” are modern familiar French.[8][1]

Timeline

  • 1380 – Péter in the Aalma glossary.[2]
  • 1546 – Robert Estienne records the sense “to crackle”.[2]
  • 1585 – Noël du Fail uses it for “to burst”.[2]
  • 1640 – Oudin records péter plus haut que le cul.[2]
  • 1797 – Péter de santé appears.[4]
  • 1878 – Rigaud records péter dans la soie.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (familiar, vulgar) To fart, to break wind.[8][2][1]
  2. (familiar) To go off with a bang, to explode; to burst or snap: un bouton a pété.[8][2]
  3. (familiar) Péter de: to be bursting with: péter de santé.[8][4]
  4. (familiar, transitive) To break: il a pété son lacet.[8][1]
  5. (familiar) Péter les plombs, péter un câble: to lose control of oneself;[8][1] se la péter: to show off.[8][1]
  6. (vulgar) Péter plus haut que son cul: to be pretentious;[8][2] péter dans la soie: to live in luxury.[8][2]

Word family

  • pétage
  • péteur
  • se la péter

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Péter.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/p%C3%A9ter. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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