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paix

Etymology and origin of the French word paix

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Vie de saint Léger
Inherited from
Latin pax via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*peh₂ḱ-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pax
French paix

Pronunciation

Forms

paix f (invariable)[1] Old French pais, paiz, pes; the spelling ⟨x⟩ is etymological.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pais, inherited from Latin pāx (“peace”) (genitive “pācis”).[2][4][5][6] Bloch and Wartburg explain the Old French form as remade on the verb apaiser, replacing the regular outcome.[5] Rey notes that Latin “pax” was properly the agreement concluded between warring parties, the resulting state being rather “otium”;[4] the word belongs to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, fix by agreement”), seen also in pacīscor (“to make a pact”) and pangō (“to fix”).[4][7][1]

Cognate with Romanian pace, Italian pace, Catalan pau, Spanish paz and Portuguese paz;[7][8] the Latin word also gave Basque bake and Breton peoc'h.[7][8] English peace is from Old French “pais”.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (late 10th century) has Et Ewruïns fist fincta pais “and Ebroin made a feigned peace”, the sense “concord between persons”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

By about 1100 the Chanson de Roland uses it for the absence of war between nations, where olive branches signify pais e humilitet, and for order among citizens;[2][4] the state between nations soon became the main sense.[4] It could mean a truce (about 1200) and, by metonymy, a peace treaty (1317).[2] In religion it is inner peace (Saint Alexis, about 1050) and the kiss of peace, a calque of Christian Latin pacem dare (about 1200);[2][4] by metonymy la paix was the plate given to the faithful to kiss at the end of Mass (1306).[2]

From the 12th century it named a quiet, untroubled state: être en paix, laisser qqn en paix.[2][4] Juge de paix dates from 1688.[2] The exclamation la paix ! “quiet!” is in Vadé (about 1751), and fous-moi la paix “leave me alone” in 1791.[9]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Fincta pais in the Vie de saint Léger.[2]
  • c. 1050 – Inner peace, in Saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Peace between nations, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1306 – The pax kissed at Mass, in Joinville.[2]
  • 1317 – A peace treaty.[2]
  • 1688 – Juge de paix.[2]
  • 1791 – Fous-moi la paix.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Peace: the state of a country that is not at war; a peace treaty: signer la paix.[10][7]
  2. Concord between people: faire la paix, vivre en paix.[7][11]
  3. Public order, absence of violence: paix sociale, gardien de la paix.[7][10]
  4. Calm, quiet, tranquillity of mind: avoir la paix, laisser en paix, la paix !: quiet![2][9]
  5. (Christianity) Spiritual peace; the kiss of peace; the pax, a plate kissed at Mass.[2][4]

Word family

  • apaiser
  • paisible
  • paisiblement

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 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 g h i 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 91a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Paix.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/paix. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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