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reine

Etymology and origin of the French word reine

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Inherited from
Latin regina via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (rēx)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin regina
French reine

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁɛn/[1]
  • IPA: /ʁɛːn/[1]

Forms

reine f (plural reines, masculine roi)[1] Old French reïne (three syllables) in the West, roïne in the centre, after roi; two syllables from the 14th century; in the 16th century reine and roine were both heard.[2] Académie 1694: reine, reyne.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French reïne, inherited from Latin rēgīna (“queen”),[4][3][5][6] the feminine of Latin rēx (“king”) (see roi).[3][2] The modern pronunciation comes from the West.[2] Middle French also had the learned “regine” (1465–1512).[4]

Cognate with Italian regina, Old Occitan reina, Catalan reina, Spanish reina and Portuguese rainha.[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has reïne Bramimonde, the wife of King Marsile.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

About 1160 (Eneas) it named a woman ruling in her own right.[4] Wace (about 1145) calls the Virgin reïne, later reine du ciel, reine des anges (Marot).[4][3] From the 13th century it was said of what dominates (la coutume, royne et emperiere du monde, Montaigne), and, from 1531 of a woman who outshines the others, as in the 20th-century reine de beauté.[3][2] The reine de la fève of Twelfth Night dates from 1377, the chess queen from about 1380 and the playing card from about 1514.[4][3]

Reine mère is in Du Bellay (1559), à la reine from 1680 (bouchée à la reine, 1845), and port de reine from 1690.[4][3][8] The queen bee is a reine from 1751, and the bicycle la petite reine from 1911.[4][9] In Switzerland a reine is the cow that leads the herd after winning the fights of the alpine pastures.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Reïne in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1145 – The Virgin, in Wace.[4]
  • c. 1160 – A queen regnant, in Eneas.[4]
  • 1377 – Royne de la fevre.[4]
  • c. 1380 – The chess queen.[4]
  • 1559 – Royne mère in Du Bellay.[4]
  • 1655 – Reine-des-prés.[3]
  • 1751 – The queen bee.[4]
  • 1911 – La petite reine.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A queen: the wife of a king; a woman ruling a kingdom: la reine d'Angleterre, reine mère.[10][11]
  2. A woman who dominates or excels: la reine de la soirée, reine de beauté.[11][3]
  3. What prevails: ici l'ironie est reine.[11]
  4. (chess, cards) The queen.[4][10]
  5. (zoology) The queen (of bees, ants, termites).[11][1]
  6. La petite reine: the bicycle, bouchée à la reine: vol-au-vent, la reine du ciel: the Virgin Mary.[9][10]
  7. (Switzerland) The leading cow of a herd.[3]

Word family

  • vice-reine
  • reine-claude
  • reine-des-prés
  • reine-marguerite

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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. ^ 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, 210b
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Reine.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/reine. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·