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Etymology and origin of the French word pale

pale1 blade of an oar or propeller

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1360–1370 Baudouin de Sebourc
Borrowed from
Occitan pala via Middle French
Ultimate origin
Latin pala

Pronunciation

Forms

pale f (plural pales)[1]

Etymology

The word for the blade is inherited from Middle French pale, probably borrowed from Old Occitan pala (“shovel”) (recorded early in the 13th century) or a form from a western dialect.[2][3][1][4] Both are counterparts of pele, the old form of pelle, from Latin pāla (“spade, shovel”).[2][3][5] That word is the regular French descendant of the Latin, and the two are doublets.[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Baudouin de Sebourc (1360–1370), meaning an oar: Mais ensi qu'il nagoient à pales et à crois (“but as they rowed with oars and with poles”).[2][5]

Semantic evolution

For a long time the word named the oar itself, until in 1702 it was narrowed to the flat part that acts on the water.[3][2] After 1450 it also named the board that holds back the water of a sluice or mill race.[3][2] In the 19th century it was applied to the paddles of a steamboat's wheel (1845) and then to the blade of a propeller (1913), whence bipale and tripale (1960).[3][7] Littré also records it for a pointed board used in fencing.[5]

Timeline

  • 1360–1370 – First recorded, in Baudouin de Sebourc, meaning an oar.[2][3]
  • after 1450 – Used for a sluice gate.[3][2]
  • 1702 – Narrowed to the flat end of an oar.[2][3]
  • 1718 – First recorded in the Académie's dictionary.[2]
  • 1845 – Used for the paddle of a steamboat's wheel.[3][7]
  • 1913 – Used for the blade of a propeller.[3][7]
  • 1960 – Bipale and tripale are recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The blade of an oar or paddle, the flat part that goes into the water.[8][9][10]
  2. A paddle of a paddle wheel.[8][10]
  3. A blade of a propeller, fan or rotor: les pales d'un ventilateur.[8][9][10]
  4. (technical) A sluice gate of a lock, mill race or reservoir.[8][9][2]

Word family

  • bipale
  • tripale

pale2 pall, chalice cover

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1680 Richelet
Borrowed from
Latin palla
Ultimate origin
Latin palla
Etymology tree of pale2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin palla
French pale

Pronunciation

Forms

pale f (plural pales), also palle[11]

Etymology

The liturgical word is borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin palla (“altar linen”), the Christian Latin use of a word that in Classical Latin meant a woman's cloak or mantle.[2][7][8][5] Littré notes that Bossuet wrote palle, closer to the Latin.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Richelet records it in 1680 for the stiff linen square that covers the chalice at Mass.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The Grand Robert dates it to Furetière in 1690.[7] The Académie spelled it palle in 1694 and pale from 1718;[2] its first edition defines it as a square card covered with white linen, used to cover the calice.[12] Some dictionaries still accept both spellings.[2]

Timeline

  • 1680 – First recorded, by Richelet.[2][8]
  • 1690 – Furetière records it.[7]
  • 1694 – The Académie spells it palle.[12][2]
  • 1718 – The Académie adopts the spelling pale.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Catholic liturgy) A pall: a square of linen stiffened with card, with which the priest covers the chalice during Mass.[2][8][9]

Usage notes

Pale is a homophone of pal “stake”.[2][8] Wiktionnaire also records pale as a clipping used at the École polytechnique for a partial examination.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 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 k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 476b
  5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
  12. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pale.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pale. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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