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Etymology and origin of the French word pie

pie1 magpie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1175 Horn
Inherited from
Latin pica via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin pīca
Etymology tree of pie1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pīca
Old French pie
French pie
English magpie
English pie
Italian pica

Pronunciation

Forms

pie f (plural pies)[1]

Etymology

The word for the magpie is inherited from Old French pie, inherited from Latin pīca (“magpie”), which also meant “chatterer”, the feminine of pīcus (“woodpecker”), a word of onomatopoeic origin; the masculine and the feminine served to tell two different birds apart.[2][3][1] The word displaced agace, which Bloch and Wartburg call a dialect word of Germanic origin, compare Old High German agaza;[2][3][4] The agace type is still the more common in the Gallo-Romance dialects, where the magpie's Latin name is alive only in the West and South-West.[2][3][4]

Cognate with Italian pica, Provençal piga and Portuguese pega.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1175, in Horn, for the magpie, and in Old French it often expressed a minimal value, as in the reinforcement of a negation.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The traits of the bird gave the figurative uses: its thirst and greed, its chatter, its liking for shiny things and its black-and-white plumage.[3] Phrases about drinking, such as croquer la pie (about 1450), have gone out of use.[3][5] Its chatter gave parler comme pies en cage (Calvin, 1563), jaser comme une pie (1625) and pie for a talkative woman (1640), later a talkative person.[2][3] The thieving bird gave larron comme une pie (1690) and voleur comme une pie (about 1835).[7][3]

From the plumage, pie was used as an adjective (1549) for a horse partly white and partly another colour, as Robert Estienne explained, later for the coat of other animals (1842) and, in the 20th century, for black-and-white police cars, voitures pie.[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that in the Middle Ages such a horse was called baucent.[4] Fromage à la pie (1680), a fresh white cheese mixed with herbs, takes its name from the two colours.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – Pie is recorded in Horn.[2]
  • c. 1393 – The Ménagier records the derivative piat “young magpie”.[2]
  • c. 1450 – Croquer la pie “to drink heavily” is recorded.[3]
  • 1549 – Robert Estienne records cheval pie.[2]
  • 1553 – Pie-grièche “shrike” is recorded.[4][3]
  • 1625 – Jaser comme une pie is recorded.[2]
  • 1640 – Oudin records pie for a talkative woman.[2]
  • 1680 – Richelet records fromage à la pie.[2]
  • c. 1835 – Voleur comme une pie is used by Stendhal.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The magpie, a long-tailed bird of the crow family with black and white plumage, known for its chattering and its liking for shiny objects.[8][7]
  2. (figurative) A chatterbox: bavard comme une pie.[8][9]
  3. Fromage à la pie: fresh white cheese mixed with herbs.[8][7]

Adjective

  1. (invariable) Piebald or skewbald, of a horse or cow with large black and white or fawn and white patches: une jument pie.[8][10][2]
  2. Black and white, of a car: voiture pie.[3][7]

Word family

  • piat
  • piette
  • pie-grièche

pie2 pious

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1165
Inherited from
Latin pius
Ultimate origin
Latin pius
Etymology tree of pie2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pīus
French pie
French pieux
English pious
Italian pio
From the same root · pie2
Italian empio ← pīus
Latin impius ← pīus
Latin piē ← pīus
Latin pietās ← pīus
Latin piō ← pīus
Spanish piedad ← pīus

Pronunciation

Forms

pie f (adjective, feminine only)[8]

Etymology

The adjective for “pious” is inherited from Latin pius (“pious”), from its feminine pia.[3][4][11] The masculine gave Old French piu, remade as pieux.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded about 1165 (the Grand Robert has about 1160) in the sense “pious”.[3][11]

Semantic evolution

Rivalled and then replaced by pieuse, the old feminine survives almost only in œuvre pie “a pious work” (1544, in the plural from 1588) and, more rarely, action pie.[3][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1165 – The adjective pie is recorded.[3]
  • 1544 – Œuvre pie is recorded.[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (feminine only) Pious, only in œuvre pie, a pious or charitable work, formerly also property given to the clergy for a set purpose.[8][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pie.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pie. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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