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racaille

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Etymology and origin of the French word racaille

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1140 Gaimar, Estoire des Engleis More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin rādō

Pronunciation

Forms

racaille f (plural racailles)[1] Old French and Anglo-Norman rascaille, simplified to racaille at the end of the 12th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French rascaille, an Anglo-Norman and Norman word formed from Old French *rasquer + -aille, an unrecorded verb matching Old French *rachier, with the pejorative suffix.[2][5][3][6] This verb is known only indirectly, through Old Occitan rascar (“to scrape”) and Liège rahî.[5][3] It goes back to Vulgar Latin *rasicō (“to scrape”), a frequentative formed on rāsus, the past participle of rādō (“to scrape, shave”), which also gave raser.[2][3][7]

Bloch and Wartburg suppose that the verb, applied to people, meant “to gather in a noisy crowd”, and that the suffix stressed the contempt;[5][3] Rey also allows a path from “scrapings” to “refuse, worthless people”.[5][3] Littré had instead thought it most likely that the word came from the insult raca of the Gospel, having rejected Ancient Greek ῥάκος (rhákos, “rag”) as its source.[8]

The Latin verb also gave Spanish rascar (“to scratch”), Catalan rascar and Portuguese rascar.[3][7] The English word rascal comes from the Old French form.[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are all in Anglo-Norman texts; the earliest is Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, about 1140, where rascaille means the rabble.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Racaille named the dregs of society as a whole, and before 1672 it was also applied to any class of people held in contempt; in sense and form it is close to canaille.[3][10] Its use for things of no value, recorded by Furetière in 1690, survives only regionally.[3][10]

In modern usage it means a set of shady characters, and also one of them, une racaille, which has the verlan form caillera.[11] Bob records the current special sense of hostile young delinquents of the poor suburbs.[12]

English took the word as rascaile in the mid-14th century, for the common people and the rabble of an army.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1140 – Rascaille appears in Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis.[2]
  • late 12th century – The simplified form racaille.[3][4]
  • mid-14th century – English borrows it as rascaile.[9]
  • before 1672 – Guy Patin uses it of a despised class of people.[10][3]
  • 1690 – Furetière records its use for worthless things.[10][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (derogatory, dated) The lowest, most despised part of the people; rabble, populace.[13][2][14]
  2. (derogatory) A set of crooks and shady people: la police a arrêté toute cette racaille.[13][11]
  3. (derogatory) Une racaille: one such person, especially a young delinquent of the poor suburbs.[11][12][1]
  4. (regional) Worthless things, rubbish.[3][8]

Word family

  • caillera

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e 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. 10, 88b
  7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b Bob, dictionnaire d'argot, de français familier et populaire, languefrancaise.net/Bob
  13. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  14. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Racaille.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/racaille. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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