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quinze

Etymology and origin of the French word quinze

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Inherited from
Latin quindecim via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (quīndecim)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɛ̃z/[1]

Forms

quinze (invariable)[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French quinze, inherited from Latin quīndecim (“fifteen”),[2][3][4][5][6][1] a compound of quīnque (“five”) (see cinq) and decem (“ten”) (see dix); Littré notes that the stress was on the first syllable.[2][3][7]

Cognate with Old Occitan quinze, Catalan quinze, Spanish quince and Italian quindici.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has De dulce France i a quinze milliers, “there are fifteen thousand from sweet France”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Quinze jours is the usual phrase for two weeks, instead of fourteen.[3][8] Like other numerals it is used as an ordinal for a day of the month (early 18th century) and after a name or number: Louis quinze, page quinze (1869).[3][9][10]

As a noun it was one of the four strokes of real tennis (about 1470), then the first point in tennis (Larousse, 1932); Richelet records it at cards (1680), and Madame de Maintenon names a card game (1711).[2][3][9] Since 1898 le quinze is a rugby team, as in le quinze de France.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Quinze, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1112 – quinzaine.[3]
  • c. 1470 – A stroke in real tennis.[2]
  • 1680 – A score at cards, Richelet.[2]
  • Early 18th century – A date, le quinze.[3]
  • 1898 – A rugby fifteen.[2]

Meanings

Numeral

  1. fifteen: quinze minutes, quinze jours, a fortnight, (d')aujourd'hui en quinze, two weeks today.[8][3]
  2. Fifteenth: page quinze, Louis quinze.[9]

Noun

  1. The number fifteen; the fifteenth day of a month: le quinze août.[9][3]
  2. (tennis) Fifteen, the first point in a game.[9][3]
  3. (rugby) A team of fifteen players: le quinze de France.[2][3]

Word family

  • quinzaine
  • quinzième
  • quinzièmement
  • quinze-vingts

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1478b
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Quinze.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/quinze. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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