Etymologically
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tombe

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 15:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tɔ̃b/[1]

Forms

tombe f (plural tombes)[1] Old French tumbe, tombe.[1][2]

Etymology

It continues inherited from Ecclesiastical Latin tumba, used by Prudentius in the 4th century, borrowed from Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound; tomb”).[3][4][5] The Greek word, which first named the mound over a grave, may be related to Latin tumulus (“mound”) and tumeō (“to swell”) and to a root expressing swelling, but its suffix does not match an Indo-European type.[3][6] Cognate with Italian tomba, Occitan tomba, Catalan tomba, Spanish tumba and Portuguese tumba.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman d'Énéas (about 1130) has it for the place where a dead person is buried;[8][9] Wace uses it about 1150.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

About 1180 Marie de France writes of a widow mourning desur sa tumbe night and day.[9] By metonymy it named the tombstone (1311).[9][3] As a symbol of death it appears in avoir un pied dans la tombe (Ronsard, 1555), suivre quelqu'un dans la tombe (1643) and être au bord de la tombe (1646).[9][3] Muet comme une tombe dates from 1801, and se retourner dans sa tombe, of a dead person imagined to be outraged, from Bernanos in 1938.[3][9] The diminutive tombeau (13th century, earlier tombel) names a funeral monument.[3][4] Outre-tombe seems to have been coined by Chateaubriand for his Mémoires d'outre-tombe.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – In Énéas.[8]
  • c. 1180 – Sur sa tumbe, in Marie de France.[9]
  • 1311 – A tombstone.[9]
  • 1555 – Avoir un pied dans la tombe, in Ronsard.[9]
  • 1801 – Muet comme une tombe.[3]
  • 1938 – Se retourner dans sa tombe, in Bernanos.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A grave, the place where a dead person is buried, usually covered with a slab: les tombes d'un cimetière, se recueillir sur la tombe de quelqu'un.[6][10]
  2. A tombstone, a funeral monument.[6][2]
  3. (figurative) Death: avoir un pied dans la tombe, suivre quelqu'un dans la tombe.[3][1]
  4. Il doit se retourner dans sa tombe: he would turn in his grave, muet comme une tombe: as silent as the grave.[6][1]

Word family

  • tombeau
  • tombal
  • tombelle
  • outre-tombe
  • tumulus
  • catacombe
  • Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos)
  • English tomb

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)