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travers

Etymology and origin of the French word travers

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (en traver)
Inherited from
Latin traversum
Ultimate origin
Latin (vertō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʁa.vɛʁ/[1]

Forms

travers m (invariable)[1] Old French traver (1080); travers from about 1150.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin trāversum, the neuter of Latin trānsversus (“lying across, oblique”) used as a noun, already common in adverbial phrases such as “in transversum” and “de transverso”.[2][4][5][6] “Trānsversus” is the past participle of trānsvertō (“to turn across”), from trāns- (“across”) and vertō (“to turn”).[2][5] Unlike French, Italian traverso and Spanish travieso are also adjectives.[2][4] transverse is a learned doublet.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has en traver, which the TLFi glosses “by a cross road” and the Grand Robert and Petit Robert “directly”: De Val-Fuït sunt venuz en travers.[7][3][8][9]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts it is found above all in phrases: en travers “right through” (Wace, 1160–1174) and “crosswise”, à travers (1160–1174), de travers (about 1155) and au travers de (about 1210).[7][2] De travers took on unfavourable senses: regarder quelqu'un de travers “with hostility” (about 1280), répondre de travers (about 1440), prendre tout de travers (1585) and avaler de travers (1850).[7][2] Old French phrases joining tort and travers gave à tort et à travers.[2]

As a noun it named a cross path (late 12th century, a sense passed to traverse), then a width (about 1389), the beam of a ship (1704) and, in butchery, travers de porc (1877).[2] The figurative sense, a foible or defect of character, appears in the 16th or 17th century (1637 in Rey).[2][4] Passer au travers “to escape justice” was police slang in 1897.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – En traver in the Chanson de Roland.[7]
  • c. 1155 – De travers, in Wace.[7]
  • 1160–1174 – À travers and en travers, in Wace.[7]
  • c. 1280 – Regarder quelqu'un de travers.[7]
  • 1368 – The derivative traversin “bolster”.[4]
  • 1637 – “A foible”.[2]
  • 1640 – À travers champs.[7]
  • 1850 – Avaler de travers in Labiche.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A foible, a quirk, a small defect: chacun a ses travers.[11][2]
  2. (dated) Breadth: un travers de doigt.[9][7]
  3. (butchery) Travers de porc: spare ribs.[11][2]
  4. (nautical) The beam of a ship: par le travers.[2]
  5. À travers, au travers de: through, across: à travers champs, voir à travers la vitre.[11][7]
  6. En travers (de): across, crosswise, se mettre en travers de: to stand in the way of.[12][8]
  7. De travers: askew; wrongly: avaler de travers, regarder quelqu'un de travers, aller de travers.[7][11]
  8. À tort et à travers: indiscriminately, passer au travers: to escape.[2][10]

Word family

  • traversin
  • traverser
  • traverse
  • transversal
  • Latin trānsversus

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 n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 222a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Travers.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/travers. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·