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pied

Etymology and origin of the French word pied

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
2nd half of the 10th century, Vie de saint Léger (piet)
Inherited from
Latin pes via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*pṓds)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pes
French pied

Pronunciation

Forms

pied m (plural pieds)[1] Old French piet, pié; the -d was restored in Middle French after Latin, but pié is still found in La Fontaine.[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pié, inherited from Latin pēs (“foot”) (accusative “pedem”).[4][5][6][7][1] The Latin word goes back to the Indo-European name of the foot, also in Ancient Greek πούς (poús), Sanskrit पाद (pā́da), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐍃 (fōtus) and English foot, Latin generalised the vowel “e” of the oblique cases.[5][8][1] Latin “pēs” already meant a support, a stalk, a unit of length and a metrical foot.[5]

Cognate with Italian piede, Occitan pe, Catalan peu, Spanish pie and Portuguese pé.[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the second half of the 10th century the Vie de saint Léger uses piet for the human foot.[4][3] About 1100 the Chanson de Roland has à pied “on foot”, en piez “standing” and descendre à pied “to dismount”.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

Gens de pied, foot soldiers, date from about 1160, mettre pied à terre from about 1200, pied à pied “step by step” from about 1195, and à pied sec from about 1240.[4][5] Middle French added prendre pied (1306), partir les pieds devant “to die” (1450–65), tenir pied ferme (1452) and à pied levé (about 1460).[4][5]

The 16th and 17th centuries brought avoir bon pied, bon œil (1527), pieds nus (1579), trouver chaussure à son pied (1606), ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser (1611), lâcher pied (1656–57) and avoir pied (1671).[4][5] Mettre les pieds dans le plat dates from 1808, mettre à pied a worker from 1898.[4] As a measure the pied was 32.5 cm, and in Quebec it renders the English foot.[1]

Timeline

  • 2nd half of the 10th century – Piet in the Vie de saint Léger.[4]
  • c. 1100 – À pied and en piez in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1160 – Genz de pié, foot soldiers.[4]
  • c. 1460 – À pied levé.[4]
  • 1527 – Bon pied, bon œil.[4]
  • 1611 – Ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser in Cotgrave.[4]
  • 1656–1657 – Lâcher pied in Pascal.[4]
  • 1808 – Mettre les pieds dans le plat.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The foot: avoir mal aux pieds, à pied, on foot.[9][1]
  2. The foot or base of something: le pied d'une montagne, au pied du mur.[10]
  3. The leg or stand of a piece of furniture or equipment: le pied d'une table.[1][10]
  4. A plant, stalk: un pied de salade, pied de vigne.[10]
  5. A former unit of length, (Quebec) a foot (30.5 cm).[1]
  6. (poetry) A metrical foot; in French verse, a syllable.[1][6]
  7. (slang) C'est le pied: it's great.[1]

Word family

  • casse-pieds
  • pied-à-terre
  • pied-bot
  • pied-de-biche
  • plain-pied
  • peton
  • piétiner
  • contre-pied
  • va-nu-pieds
  • piédouche
  • piéton
  • podo-
  • piège
  • pédestre
  • Latin pēs
  • English foot

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 293a
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pied.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pied. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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