Etymologically
Log in

tel

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Forms

tel (feminine telle, masculine plural tels, feminine plural telles)[1] Old French tiel, tal, tel; plural tels, tex, teus.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin tālis (“of such a kind, such”), a demonstrative of quality used in correlation with quālis (see quel).[3][2][5][6][7] Rey notes that “tālis” contains the Indo-European demonstrative stem “t-”, as in Ancient Greek τό (tó) and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰 (þata).[2]

Cognate with Italian tale, Old Occitan tal, Catalan tal, Spanish tal and Portuguese tal.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Jonas fragment (938–950) has tels eleemosynas “such alms” followed by a consecutive qe; the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) uses tal as a demonstrative.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old French tel was used alone before a noun, as still in proverbs (tel père, tel fils) and set phrases, un tel later became general.[2] The Chanson de Roland has it as a pronoun standing for a person, Tel as ocis, whence un tel for an unnamed person (1604) and Monsieur Untel.[2][4][9] Tel quel (1226) first meant “just as”, then “middling, poor” (1460), and finally “unchanged, as it is”.[2] Tel que with the subjunctive once had the concessive sense of modern quel que (about 1560).[2] Its derivative tellement dates from the 12th century; in familiar French it means “very, so much” in negative sentences: pas tellement.[5][2]

Timeline

  • 938–950 – Tels, Jonas fragment.[3]
  • c. 980 – Tal, Vie de saint Léger.[3]
  • c. 1100 – As a pronoun, Chanson de Roland.[2][4]
  • 12th century – Tellement.[5]
  • 1226 – Tel quel.[2]
  • 1604 – Un tel.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. such, like this, of this kind: de tels propos, rien de tel, tel est mon avis.[10][1]
  2. So great, such: une telle peur que.[3][10]
  3. Tel que: like, such as; as: des fruits tels que les pommes, tel quel, as it is, unchanged.[1][2]
  4. Like, as (in comparisons): tel un oiseau, tel père, tel fils.[1][2]
  5. A certain, some: à tel endroit, à telle heure.[10][3]

Pronoun

  1. (literary) Someone, one: tel est pris qui croyait prendre, un tel, Monsieur Untel, so-and-so.[1][2][9]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 55a
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert