Etymologically
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route

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Pronunciation

Forms

route f (plural routes)[1] Old French rute, rote;[2] roupte (1347) shows the etymological ⟨p⟩;[2] route from the 16th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French rote, inherited from Vulgar Latin *rupta, short for the phrase “via rupta”, literally “a broken, opened way”,[4][2][5][6][1] from the feminine past participle of Latin rumpō (“to break”), as in the classical phrase “rumpere viam”, to open a way (Seneca).[4][2][3] Another explanation, from stones “broken” for the road as opposed to paving, is not borne out.[2][3]

Old French also had route “band, troop” and “rout”, of the same origin, which gave routier “freebooter” and déroute.[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon (1121–1134) uses rute for a way or direction, and Wace (1160–1174) for a road, in sei metre en sa route “to set off”.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Rey notes that it first named a way cut through a forest for carting, hunting or walking,[2][5] then a main overland road, as opposed to a town street (rue).[2][6] Types of road followed: grande route (1694), route royale (1810), route départementale (1835), route nationale (1875), and the code de la route “highway code” (1921).[4][2]

It also means the course a ship or traveller follows: faire fausse route “to go astray” (1690), feuille de route “travel orders” (1825) and en route, bonne route.[4][1] Derivatives include routine (16th century), routier (1834) and autoroute.[5][1]

Timeline

  • 1121–1134 – Rute “way, direction”.[4]
  • 1160–1174 – Rute “road” (Wace).[4]
  • 1347 – Roupte.[2][3]
  • 1690 – Faire fausse route.[4]
  • 1694 – Grande route.[4][2]
  • 1875 – Route nationale.[4][2]
  • 1921 – Code de la route.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A road between places, outside towns.[6][1]
  2. A route or way; the journey: en route, bonne route.[6][1]
  3. The course of a ship or aircraft: faire route vers.[6][4]
  4. (figurative) The way to an end: la route du succès.[6]

Word family

  • autoroute
  • dérouter
  • routier
  • routine

References

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