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repousser

Etymology and origin of the French word repousser

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Latin pulso
French pousser
French repousser

The Robert dictionaries give two verbs repousser, both formed on pousser, with the prefix re- in the sense “back” and in the sense “again”.[1][2]

repousser1 push back

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1375, Cuvelier
Ultimate origin
Latin (pulsō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.pu.se/[3]

Forms

repousser[3]

Etymology

To push back is formed from French re- + pousser, with the prefix meaning “back”.[4][1][5] Wiktionary also mentions Late Latin repulsō.[3] The simple verb continues Latin pulsō (“to push, beat”).[6][7] The new verb took over the sense “to drive away” of the Latin simple verb.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Cuvelier's Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin (about 1375) uses it for pushing people back: les a si repoussez, Qu'il se sont malgré eux arriere reculez.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The Gérard Bible of 1553 uses it for giving someone a bad welcome, and the sense “to push a thing back” is in Garnier (1579).[4][9] About 1650 it took the figurative sense “to refuse to yield to, to reject”, and in 1770 (Raynal) “to inspire disgust”.[5][4] Old slang used repousser (1847), repousser du goulot (1878) for “to stink”.[4] Engravers and metalworkers use it for working a relief on metal from the back (about 1850), and painters for a colour that comes to dominate those around it (1870).[5] The sense “to postpone” (Zola, 1887), though very common, is criticized by purists.[5][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1375 – In Cuvelier.[4]
  • 1429 – The derivative repoussoir.[5][6]
  • 1553 – “To give a bad welcome”, in the Gérard Bible.[4]
  • 1579 – Pushing a thing back, in Garnier.[4]
  • 1770 – “To repel, disgust”, in Raynal.[4]
  • 1847 – “To stink”, in slang.[4]
  • 1887 – “To postpone”, in Zola.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To push back, make someone draw back: il l'a repoussé d'une bourrade; to repel: repousser l'ennemi, les attaques.[10][2]
  2. To push something back or in the opposite direction.[2][9]
  3. To turn away, give a bad welcome to; to reject an idea, an offer, a temptation.[2][9]
  4. To disgust, repel: il n'y a rien en lui qui me repousse.[4][2]
  5. To postpone, put off.[3][5]
  6. (metalwork) To work a design in relief by hammering from the back.[5][3]

Word family

  • repoussant
  • repoussoir
  • repoussage
  • repoussé

repousser2 grow again

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1600
Ultimate origins
French (re-)Latin (pulso)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.pu.se/[3]

Forms

repousser[3]

Etymology

To grow again is formed from French re- + pousser, with the prefix meaning “again”, on the sense “to grow” of pousser.[1][2] Bloch and Wartburg note that this sense of the simple verb does not seem older than the 17th century.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Robert dictionaries date it to 1600;[1][2][8] Olivier de Serres already speaks of the shoots that fruit trees repoussent à la prime-vere.[1][2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To grow again: les feuilles repoussent, laisser repousser sa barbe.[2][11]
  2. (transitive, rare) To put out again: cet arbre a repoussé de plus belles branches.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Repousser.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/repousser. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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