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tonnerre

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Etymology and origin of the French word tonnerre

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100 Chanson de Roland More words from the 11th century
Inherited from
Latin tonitrus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin tonō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin tonō
Latin tonitrus
French tonnerre
From the same root
Latin attonitus ← tonō
Latin attonō ← tonō
Latin dētonō ← tonō
Latin intonō ← tonō
Romanian tun ← tonō

Pronunciation

  • /tɔ.nɛʁ/[1]
  • Louisiana: [tɔ̃.næɾ][1]

Forms

tonnerre m (plural tonnerres)[1] Old French tuneire (about 1100), toneire (12th century) and tonoire (13th to early 17th century); tonnerre is found from 1553.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French tuneire, inherited from Latin tonitrus (“thunder, a resounding noise”).[4][2][1] The regular French outcome tonnoire is attested until 1572, in Amyot, and tonnaire appears in dictionaries from 1573 to Nicot (1606).[4]

The Latin noun is derived from tonō (“to thunder”) (the source of tonner); as Latin had no suffix ⟨-tru⟩, Rey explains it as a blend of a masculine stem in ⟨-tu-⟩ and a neuter stem in ⟨-tro-⟩.[2] The noun spread less widely in the Romance languages than the verb, and most of them made a noun from the verb instead: Italian tuono, Spanish trueno and Old Occitan tron, which competed with toneire.[5][2] Rey compares the Latin group with Old English þunor (“thunder”) and the English word thunder.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, as tuneire, for the noise that comes with lightning: Orez i ad de tuneire e de vent “there are storms of thunder and wind”.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century (about 1160) the word was also used of any deafening noise.[2] By metonymy it sometimes named lightning itself (1440–1475), and the theatre used it for the device that imitated thunder (1743).[2][7] Voix de tonnerre “thundering voice” is found in 1553, and coup de tonnerre for a sudden, unforeseen event in 1623.[4][2]

As an interjection expressing violence or threat it dates from 1790, in oaths such as tonnerre de Dieu and mille tonnerres, which seem to come from sailors' speech.[2][4] From de tous les tonnerres de Dieu (1790) came de tonnerre (1873) and the familiar du tonnerre (1877) “terrific”, a superlative of admiration.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Tuneire appears in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1160 – Used for a deafening noise.[2][7]
  • 1440–1475 – Used for lightning.[2]
  • 1546 – Robert Estienne records pierre de tonnarre, a thunderstone.[7]
  • 1552 – Rabelais writes tonnoirre for a great noise.[4]
  • 1553 – The form tonnerre and the phrase voix de tonnerre are recorded.[2][4]
  • 1572 – Last record of the old form tonnoire, in Amyot.[4]
  • 1623 – Théophile de Viau uses coup de tonnerre for a fatal event.[4]
  • 1743 – The theatre's thunder machine is called tonnerre.[2][7]
  • 1790 – The oath tonnerre de Dieu is recorded.[4][2]
  • 1877 – Du tonnerre “terrific” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Thunder, the noise that comes with lightning: un coup de tonnerre, Le tonnerre gronde au loin.[8][4]
  2. (dated or literary) Lightning, the foudre; also the bundle of flames that represents it.[8][6]
  3. coup de tonnerre: a sudden and unforeseen event, a bombshell.[8][2]
  4. de tonnerre: like thunder, une voix de tonnerre;[8][2] (familiar) du tonnerre: terrific, fantastic: un concert du tonnerre.[8][2]
  5. (interjection) An oath expressing anger or threat: Tonnerre !, Mille tonnerres !, Tonnerre de Brest !, originally a sailors' oath.[8][2]
  6. A deafening noise; a noisy outburst of approval or disapproval: un tonnerre d'applaudissements.[8][4]
  7. (Louisiana) A tough guy, a troublemaker.[1]

Word family

  • paratonnerre

Usage notes

In Louisiana French tonnerre alone is also a mild oath, “darn it”, short for phrases such as (que le) tonnerre m'écrase.[1] Littré cites Palsgrave for a 16th-century pronunciation in which the first syllable sounded like ton.[6]

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 p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tonnerre.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/tonnerre. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·