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peinture

Etymology and origin of the French word peinture

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1121–1134, Philippe de Thaon, Bestiaire
Inherited from
Latin *pinctura
Ultimate origin
Latin (pingo)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɛ̃.tyʁ/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): /pẽ.t͡sʏʁ/[1]

Forms

peinture f (plural peintures)[1] Old French pointure, peinture.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *pinctūra, a remaking after the verb pingō (“to paint”) (see peindre) of classical pictūra (“the art of painting; a painting; description”).[3][5][2][1]

Cognate with Old Occitan pintura, Catalan pintura, Spanish pintura and Portuguese pintura, which share the ⟨n⟩; Italian pittura continues the classical form.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134) uses it for a description, an image made with words.[3][7] About 1140 the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne has it for painted pictures: par mult cheres peintures a bestes et a serpenz.[3]

Semantic evolution

About 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it for the representation of the visible world through colour, the art of painting.[3] About 1200 it was also what is engraved in the mind or heart.[3] The material sense, the colouring matter used to paint, is in Pomey (1671), and La Bruyère (1688) has it for make-up.[3][8]

En peinture “in a portrait” dates from the 15th century (Villon); ne pas pouvoir voir quelqu'un en peinture “not to be able to stand the sight of someone” is in Littré (1868).[8][7] Its derivatives include peinturer (12th century) and the jocular peinturlurer (1743), perhaps after lurelure.[5]

Timeline

  • 1121–1134 – A verbal description, in Philippe de Thaon.[3]
  • c. 1140 – Painted pictures, in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.[3]
  • c. 1165 – The art of painting, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[3]
  • 1671 – Paint, the colouring matter, in Pomey.[3]
  • 1688 – Make-up, in La Bruyère.[3]
  • 1743 – Peinturlurer.[5]
  • 1868 – Ne pas pouvoir voir en peinture, in Littré.[8][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Paint: un pot de peinture, peinture fraîche, wet paint.[1][3]
  2. Painting, the covering of a surface with paint: peinture en bâtiment, house painting.[7]
  3. The art of painting: la peinture à l'huile, peinture abstraite.[7][1]
  4. A painting, a picture.[1][3]
  5. A description, a portrayal (in words).[1][3]
  6. (familiar) Ne pas pouvoir voir quelqu'un en peinture: not to be able to stand the sight of someone.[7][8]

Word family

  • peinturer
  • peinturlurer

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
  4. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Peinture.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/peinture. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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