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rouge

Etymology and origin of the French word rouge

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1130 (roge)
Inherited from
Latin rubeus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (rubeus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁuʒ/[1]
  • IPA: /ˈʁuʒə/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /ruʒ/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ɾuʒ][1]

Forms

rouge (plural rouges)[1] Old French roge (about 1130), rouge before 1191.[2][3] Anglo-Norman roge, rouge, rouje.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French roge, inherited from Latin rubeus (“reddish, ruddy”), derived from rubeō (“to be red”).[5][3][6][7] “Rubeus” displaced the old word ruber (“red”) in the Romance languages.[3][8] The Latin family goes back to an Indo-European root also behind Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós, “red”), English red and German rot.[3][8][9] Littré compares the sound change with “rage” from “rabies”.[9]

Cognate with Occitan rog, Catalan roig, Spanish rubio (“blond”), Portuguese ruivo and Romanian roib; the word kept different shades of red in each language.[8][6][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1130, in a paraphrase of the Song of Songs, meaning the colour of blood or of certain flowers.[5]

Semantic evolution

Rouge vin is recorded in 1228 and vin rouge in 1538, du rouge “red wine” dates from 1754.[5][11][3] The colour marked rank or status: rouge chapel (about 1450), later chapeau rouge, the cardinal's hat.[5][3] In the 18th and 19th centuries it marked things meant to catch the eye: signal flags (1731), the Red Cross (1870), the rear lamps of a train (1879), whence lanterne rouge “last one” (1924), and red stop lights (1890).[5]

The red flag of martial law (1789) became the flag of revolution, and bonnet rouge named the revolutionaries in 1792; a rouge was a republican or revolutionary by 1835.[5][12] The noun rouge also named red make-up, borrowed by English in 1753.[13][14]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Roge in a paraphrase of the Song of Songs.[5]
  • 1228 – Rouge vin in Jean Renart.[5]
  • 1538 – Vin rouge, in Robert Estienne.[11]
  • 1640 – Rougeaud.[6]
  • 1789 – The drapeau rouge of martial law.[5]
  • 1835 – Un rouge, a revolutionary, in Balzac.[12]
  • 1890 – Feux rouges in Zola.[5]
  • 1924 – Lanterne rouge “last place”.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. red: une rose rouge, vin rouge.[8][14]
  2. red-hot, heated to incandescence.[14]
  3. Flushed in the face: rouge de colère.[14]
  4. Of hair or fur, ginger, red.[14]
  5. (politics) Left-wing, revolutionary, communist.[1][8]

Noun

  1. The colour red.[14]
  2. A red pigment or cosmetic: rouge à lèvres “lipstick”, rouge à joues.[14]
  3. The red of a traffic light or signal: le feu est au rouge.[14]
  4. (familiar) Red wine: un verre de rouge.[8]
  5. A revolutionary or communist.[12][8]

Word family

  • rougeâtre
  • rougeaud
  • rougeoyer
  • rouget
  • rougeur
  • rougir
  • rouge-gorge
  • rouge-queue
  • roux
  • rubis
  • rubrique
  • infrarouge
  • Latin rubeus
  • English rouge

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 532a
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  12. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  13. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Rouge.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/rouge. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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