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roquer

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Etymology and origin of the French word roquer

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1690 Furetière More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Persian رخ
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French roc
French roquer

Pronunciation

Forms

roquer[1] Also spelled rocquer.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French roc2 (“rook (chess)”), the old name of the rook, with the infinitive ending -er.[4][5][2][6] The noun is recorded from about 1170 and was in common use until the 16th century; it survives in heraldry.[2][5][7] It was probably borrowed through Spanish roque from Persian رخ (rox), which named the chess piece, shown as an elephant carrying a tower, and also a fabulous bird, in French also called roc.[2][5][1] The word passed from Persian into Arabic, and it then spread into several languages.[2] Littré explains the Persian word as the name of a camel carrying archers, applied to the chess piece for its shape.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in Furetière's dictionary (1690), as a chess term;[4][3] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert give 1694.[5][7]

Semantic evolution

By analogy the verb was applied to croquet in 1889, for placing one's ball against the ball one has hit and driving both with a single stroke.[4][2][3]

From the verb came the noun roque “castling” (1859)[4] and rocade (before 1790), at first a chess term, later a military one for a road or railway running parallel to the front line, named after the crossing movement of king and rook.[2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1170 – The noun roc “rook” is first recorded.[2][7]
  • 1690 – Furetière records roquer in chess.[4][3]
  • 1694 – Date given by Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert.[5][7]
  • before 1790 – The derivative rocade is recorded.[2]
  • 1859 – The noun roque “castling” appears.[4]
  • 1889 – First used of croquet.[4][2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (chess) To castle: to move the king two squares towards a rook and set the rook on the square next to it, on the far side.[4][8][1]
  2. (croquet) To place one's ball against the ball just hit and drive both together with one stroke.[4][8][3]

Word family

  • rocade
  • roque
  • Persian رخ (rox)

Usage notes

It is intransitive and is conjugated with avoir.[6][8]

References

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

“Roquer.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/roquer. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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