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stuc

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Etymology and origin of the French word stuc

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1524 More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Italian stucco
Ultimate origin
Lombardic *stucchi

Pronunciation

Forms

stuc m (plural stucs)[1] Middle French estucq (1524) and stucq (1533); the spelling stuc is Rabelais's (1546).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian stucco (“coating made of powdered gypsum”),[5][2][6][4] recorded in Italian since the 13th century,[5][2] which is from Lombardic *stucchi (“crust”).[5][6][4][7] The Lombardic word is reconstructed from Old High German stucki (“piece, crust, coating”);[2][6][4] compare German Stück (“piece”) and Old English stycce, from Proto-Germanic *stukkiją.[1][5]

Littré compares Spanish estuque.[8] The worker's name stucateur was borrowed separately (1641, Poussin) from stuccatore.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The royal building accounts of 1533–1534 record stucq for a coating that imitates marble;[5] the GLLF and the DHLF give estucq from 1524.[3][2] Littré quotes the accounts paying a Florentine painter for work de stucq.[8]

Semantic evolution

The coating was at first made of powdered white marble mixed with lime and chalk and used for architectural ornament; today it is plaster or marble dust worked up with strong glue, which takes a polish like marble.[2][9] By metonymy the word also names a decoration or piece made of stucco (1812, Stendhal).[5][2]

Technical derivatives followed in the 19th and early 20th centuries: stuqué (1842), stuquer “to coat with stucco” (1893) and stucage (1898).[2]

Timeline

  • 1524 – First recorded as estucq.[3][2][4]
  • 1533–1534 – Stucq appears in the royal building accounts.[5]
  • 1546 – Rabelais writes stuc.[2][3]
  • 1641 – Poussin uses stucateur.[2][6]
  • 1812 – Stendhal uses it of a work in stucco.[5]
  • 1893 – The verb stuquer appears.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Stucco: a coating of plaster or marble dust mixed with glue or lime, which takes a polish that imitates marble.[9][5][3]
  2. A decorative motif or piece made of stucco.[9][3]

Word family

  • stuquer
  • stuqué
  • stucage
  • stucateur
  • Italian stucco

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e 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. 17, 264b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Stuc.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/stuc. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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