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selle

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Etymology and origin of the French word selle

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050 Vie de saint Alexis More words from the 11th century
Inherited from
Latin sella via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin sedeō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sella
French selle
Romanian șa
Romanian șale
From the same root
Latin subsellium ← sella
Romanian șelar ← șa

Pronunciation

Forms

selle f (plural selles)[1] Old French sele;[2][3] selle is a 13th-century respelling after the Latin word.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sele, inherited from Latin sella (“seat, chair”),[4][5][2][1] which also meant a commode and, only in popular and Late Latin, a horse's saddle.[2][6][4] The Latin noun comes from an earlier *sed-la, a derivative of sedeō (“to sit”),[2][7] the verb that gave seoir.[2] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Italic *sedlā, from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).[1]

Cognate with Italian sella, Spanish silla and Occitan sella.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as sele about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, for a small seat or stool;[8][2] the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has it for a horse's saddle: Li frein sunt d'or, les seles d'argent mises.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “stool without a back” is gone, but survives in the old phrase être assis entre deux selles “to hesitate between two things” (end of the 15th century), from medieval chëoir entre deus sieles.[2][4] As in Latin, the seat was also a commode (about 1225); hence selles “stools, faeces” (end of the 14th century) and aller à la selle (15th century).[4][2][6] Crafts used it for many stools and benches, from the shoemaker's (1318) to the sculptor's turntable stand (1676).[4][2]

The saddle gave cheval de selle (1606), être mal en selle and remettre quelqu'un en selle (Saint-Simon).[4][2] By likeness it named the selle turcique in anatomy (1679), the saddle of mutton in butchery (1739),[2][4] and, after the horse's saddle, the seat of a bicycle (1889) and then of a motorcycle.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Sele “seat” appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.[8]
  • c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland uses sele for a saddle.[4]
  • c. 1225 – It means a commode.[4]
  • 13th century – The spelling selle appears.[2][3]
  • Late 14th century – Eustache Deschamps uses selles for faeces.[4]
  • 1606 – Cheval de selle is recorded by Nicot.[4]
  • 1679 – Selle turcique in anatomy.[4]
  • 1889 – It names the seat of a bicycle.[4][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A saddle, the curved leather seat placed on a horse's back: un cheval de selle, se mettre en selle.[9][10]
  2. Remettre quelqu'un en selle: to help someone back into a good position.[4][10]
  3. The seat of a bicycle or motorcycle.[11][10]
  4. (chiefly plural) Stools, faeces: aller à la selle.[1][2]
  5. (butchery) The saddle of mutton or venison, between the leg and the first rib.[2][4]
  6. (sculpture) A stand topped by a turntable on which the sculptor models.[11][4]
  7. (anatomy) Selle turcique: the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone.[4][2]
  8. (dated) A small stool without a back.[4][7]

Word family

  • sellerie
  • sellier
  • seller
  • sellette

Usage notes

The phrase être assis entre deux selles is now often no longer understood, and chaise tends to replace selle in it.[2] In Belgian French one says aller à selle.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c 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 m n o p q r s t 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 418b
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Selle.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/selle. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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