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plateau

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Etymology and origin of the French word plateau

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1175, as platel
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πλατύς
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French plat
French plateau

Pronunciation

Forms

plateau m (plural plateaux)[1] Old French platel, plural platiaus, plateaux.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French plat + -eau, formed in Old French as platel.[4][3][1] The TLFi and Rey give its two main groups of senses numbered articles of their own: the tray, a diminutive of the noun plat (“dish”), found from the 12th century, and the landform, formed from the adjective of the same spelling only in the 18th century; the two were soon confused in technical uses.[4][5] The GLLF regards them as one word.[6]

The adjective comes from Vulgar Latin *plattus, borrowed from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “flat, broad”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As platel it first meant a flat dish or wooden bowl, about 1175;[3][5] in Littré's oldest example, from the Prise d'Orange, a lady is fanned à un platel d'argent “with a silver dish”.[2] The TLFi's first record of the sense “flat support for carrying things” is a manuscript variant of Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th and 14th centuries the word named small bowls and dishes; the modern sense of a tray for carrying food, drinks or letters continued the first one, and by metonymy it also names what is on the tray.[5] The pan of a balance is recorded in 1680 (Richelet), and the figurative offrir sur un plateau “to hand over on a plate” in 1928.[4][5]

The geographical sense began as a military term in 1718 (Académie), a gently sloping height where troops could be placed; from 1796 it meant a stretch of flat high ground, and haut plateau is recorded in 1859.[4][5] In the 19th and 20th centuries it took many technical senses: a flat circular part of a machine (1805), the plate of a clutch (1907), the turntable of a record player (1928).[4] In the theatre it was the stage floor (1895) and in cinema the set (1912), whence its use for a television studio.[4][5] English borrowed plateau “table-land” in 1796.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – Platel “dish, bowl”.[3][5]
  • 1680 – Richelet records the pan of a large balance.[4]
  • 1718 – The Académie records it as a military term for flat raised ground.[4]
  • 1796 – The geographical sense, English takes over the word in the same year.[4][8]
  • 1859 – Haut plateau, in Michelet.[4]
  • 1895 – The stage of a theatre.[4]
  • 1912 – A film set.[4]
  • 1928 – Offrir sur un plateau.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A tray for carrying and serving things; its contents: un plateau de fromages, a cheeseboard.[9][1]
  2. Apporter, servir quelque chose sur un plateau: to hand something over without effort on the other's part.[9][5]
  3. The pan of a balance.[4][9]
  4. (geography) A plateau, an extensive stretch of flat high ground: haut plateau.[4][1]
  5. A flat part of a machine or device: the plate of a clutch, a record-player turntable, the chainring of a bicycle.[4][1]
  6. The stage of a theatre; a film or television set, (by extension) the performers appearing on it.[4][1][6]

Word family

  • plateau-repas
  • platée
  • plat
  • plate-forme
  • aplatir

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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 g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Plateau.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/plateau. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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