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pierre

Etymology and origin of the French word pierre

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 980, Passion de Clermont (peddre)
Inherited from
Latin petra via Old French
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (πέτρα)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pjɛʁ/[1]
  • IPA (Belgium, France, Northern): [pçi̯ɛːʁ][1]
  • IPA (Canada): [pjaɛ̯ʁ][1]
  • IPA (Canada): [pjɛːʁ][1]

Forms

pierre f (plural pierres)[1] Old French peddre (about 980), perre and piere (1080); pierre from about 1165.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French piere, inherited from Latin petra (“rock, crag”), an early borrowing from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra, “rock”).[5][2][6][1][7] The origin of the Greek word is not established, Rey reports Van Windekens' proposal of a form “*skp-etra” from the root of σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look at”), a rock that “watches” sailors.[2] In Latin “petra”, perhaps a sailors' word at first, displaced lapis in the general sense “stone”, Bloch and Wartburg and Rey think its success owes something to the Gospel pun on the name of Peter.[6][2]

Cognate with Italian pietra, Occitan peira, Catalan pedra, Spanish piedra, Portuguese pedra and Romanian piatră.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion de Clermont (about 980) peddre is a building stone, a stone thrown at someone, and the stone closing Christ's tomb: sus en la peddre l'angel sist “the angel sat upon the stone”.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Stone as a substance is found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), which also has perre for a gem, pierre précieuse dates from the early 12th century.[5] In the 12th century it also named a calculus in the body.[5][2] Building gave pierre sèche (about 1180), pierre de taille (about 1298) and poser la première pierre (1659).[5][2][10]

Many figurative phrases followed: faire d'une pierre deux coups (1570, Montaigne), jeter la pierre à qqn “to blame” (1690), pierre de touche (1579), geler à pierre fendre (1460–66), pierre d'achoppement (1535), être malheureux comme les pierres (1791).[5][2] The alchemists' pierre philosophale is in Paré (1575), and âge de la pierre in 1861.[5] In modern French la pierre is also real estate as an investment.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Peddre, Passion de Clermont.[5]
  • c. 1100 – The substance; a gem, Chanson de Roland.[5]
  • First half of the 12th century – A calculus.[5]
  • c. 1298 – Pierre de taille.[5]
  • 1570 – Faire d'une pierre deux coups, Montaigne.[5][2]
  • 1575 – Pierre philosophale, Paré.[5]
  • 1659 – Poser la première pierre.[10]
  • 1861 – Âge de la pierre.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. stone (the substance): un mur en pierre, un cœur de pierre.[8][1]
  2. A stone, rock, pebble: jeter des pierres.[1][11]
  3. A stone used in building or as a monument: pierre de taille, pierre tombale, poser la première pierre.[8][5]
  4. A precious or semi-precious stone, gem: pierre précieuse.[11][8]
  5. (medicine, dated) A calculus, stone.[5][12]
  6. (figurative) Real estate as an investment: investir dans la pierre.[1]
  7. Set phrases: faire d'une pierre deux coups, to kill two birds with one stone, jeter la pierre à, to blame, pierre de touche, touchstone.[1][2]

Word family

  • perron
  • pierraille
  • pierreries
  • pierreux
  • empierrer
  • épierrer
  • pétrifier
  • pétrole
  • salpêtre
  • Latin petra

Usage notes

The given name Pierre (Peter) is from Latin Petrus, from Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros), related to the common noun; the diminutives pierrot and pierrette come from the name.[1][8][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
  6. ^ a b c 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, 313b
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pierre.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pierre. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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