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paille

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Etymology and origin of the French word paille

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1121–1134 Philippe de Thaon, Bestiaire More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin palea via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin palea
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin palea
French paille
Romanian pai
From the same root
English pallet ← palea

Pronunciation

Forms

paille f (plural pailles)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French paille, inherited from Latin palea (“chaff, husk of grain”).[2][3][4][5][1] Already in late Latin the word came to mean the whole stalk stripped of its grain, probably because the chaff once used as litter was replaced by dry stalks; by likeness it also named metal filings.[4][2][5] Rey notes related words in Baltic and Slavic meaning “chaff”;[4][1] Wiktionary takes it from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“flour, dust”).[4][1]

Cognate with Italian paglia, Spanish paja, Portuguese palha, Catalan palla and Occitan palha.[6][5][7] The old sense survives in Walloon and Lorraine dialects, which name straw with a word from Latin strāmen (“litter”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–34), in la paille del furment “the chaff of the wheat”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, “chaff”, is now gone, but it probably lies behind the early uses that stress lightness (1176–81).[4][2] At the same time la paille came to mean the stalks of cereals once the grain is threshed out.[4][2] A bed of straw stood for poverty from the 13th century (Rutebeuf), and coucher sur la paille (1690) and mettre sur la paille “to ruin” (1798) followed.[4][2][8] Straw for plaiting is recorded in 1364, and for hats and embroidery in 1690.[2][4]

A single straw gave the drawing of lots, traire a le plus longe paille in Froissart and tirer à la courte paille in La Fontaine (1665), and the biblical mote set against the beam (1695).[2][8][4] From the late 12th century une paille also meant “a thing of no value”, whence de paille “worthless” (1593) and homme de paille (1598), now a front man.[2][4] The colour gave jaune paille (1607), and the drinking straw is recorded in 1881.[2][4]

By likeness of look, the word came to mean a flaw in metalwork (1306) and in a gem (1680), and a gold or silver spangle on a costume (late 14th century), a sense later left to paillette.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1121–34 – Philippe de Thaon uses it for the chaff of wheat.[2]
  • 1176–81 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for cereal stalks.[2]
  • 1276–77 – Rutebeuf's bed of straw stands for poverty.[2]
  • 1306 – First record of the sense “flaw in metalwork”.[2]
  • 1364 – Straw for plaiting.[2][4]
  • 1593 – De paille “worthless”.[2][4]
  • 1598 – First record of homme de paille.[2]
  • 1607 – Jaune paille appears.[2][4]
  • 1665 – La Fontaine uses tirer à la courte paille.[8]
  • 1690 – Furetière records coucher sur la paille.[2][8]
  • 1798 – The Académie records mettre sur la paille.[8][4]
  • 1835 – Vin de paille is recorded.[4][8]
  • 1881 – Edmond de Goncourt uses it for a drinking straw.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. straw, the stalks of cereals once the grain has been threshed out.[9][10]
  2. A single straw, a stalk;[10][8][1] tirer à la courte paille, to draw straws.[10][8][1]
  3. Straw used for plaiting and basketwork: chapeau de paille, straw hat.[9][4]
  4. A drinking straw.[10][1]
  5. Être sur la paille: to be destitute;[9][1] mettre quelqu'un sur la paille, to ruin someone.[9][1]
  6. Homme de paille: a front man, a figurehead.[4][1]
  7. A flaw in metal or in a gem.[10][1][2]
  8. (nautical) A long iron pin at the head of the bitts.[2][10]

Adjective

  1. (invariable) Straw-coloured, pale yellow; also jaune paille.[10][2]

Word family

  • empailler
  • paillard
  • paillasse
  • pailler
  • paillette
  • paillon
  • dépailler
  • rempailler

Usage notes

Littré explains rompre la paille “to break off” by a feudal custom: a vassal who threw off his lord's authority broke a straw in his presence.[6][2] The biblical saying is voir une paille dans l'œil du voisin et ne pas voir la poutre de son œil (1695, Le Maistre de Sacy).[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 q r s t u v w x y 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 491a
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Paille.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/paille. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·