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Etymology and origin of the French word troc

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1364 Vintners' Company charter More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Old French troquier
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French troquer
French troc

Pronunciation

Forms

troc m (plural trocs)[1] Earlier spellings include Anglo-Norman truke (1364), torche (1453), troche (1474) and troque (1520).[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French troquer (“to barter”).[2][4][5][1] Rey treats the earlier spellings ⟨torche⟩, ⟨troche⟩ and ⟨troque⟩ as a feminine deverbal noun, which disappeared towards the end of the 18th century, replaced by the masculine.[3]

The origin of the verb, Old French troquier (1280), is disputed; it has parallels in Medieval Latin trocō (1257), Spanish trocar and Old Occitan trucar.[3][6] The usual explanation, also Bloch and Wartburg's, is an expressive root ⟨trokk-⟩ meaning to strike the hands together, from the handshake that closed a bargain (compare toper).[3][6][7] Rey rejects as phonetically impossible the derivation, defended by Diez and Guiraud, from the hypothetical Vulgar Latin *tropicō, from tropicus (“relating to change”).[3] Littré compares Walloon trouk and Spanish trueque.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Anglo-Norman truke in a 1364 charter of the London Vintners' Company, for the direct exchange of one good for another, wine being priced “par truke ou par eschaunges”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word belonged first to trade, for an exchange of goods;[2][3] troc in this form is recorded from 1464, in letters patent of Louis XI.[2][3] The TLFi dates torche to 1453 and rejects the 1434 given by the FEW, a date the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert repeat for troche.[2][4][9] By about 1590 Montaigne used troque figuratively for any exchange of one thing for another.[2][3]

Troc pour troc, recorded from Ronsard (1550) and Grévin (1559), meant an exchange of one thing for another with nothing added.[2][8] In the 20th century economists and historians used it for economies without money, as système de troc (1935) and économie de troc (1958).[2][3] The form troc itself was fixed in dictionaries by 1636, in Monet.[5][4]

Timeline

  • 1364 – Anglo-Norman truke appears in a charter of the London Vintners' Company.[2]
  • 1453 – An isolated spelling torche in letters of remission.[2]
  • 1464 – Troc in letters patent of Louis XI.[2][3]
  • 1474 – Troche in a mystery play.[2][3]
  • 1520 – Troque in an arithmetic book of Étienne de La Roche.[2]
  • 1559 – Grévin writes troc pour troc.[2]
  • c. 1590 – Montaigne uses troque figuratively.[2]
  • 1636 – Monet records the spelling troc.[5][4]
  • 1958 – Économie de troc is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A direct exchange of goods without money, barter: faire un troc avec un voisin.[9][2][1]
  2. An economic system based on barter: économie de troc.[9][2]
  3. (international trade) A countertrade or clearing arrangement between states: accord de troc.[9]
  4. (figurative) An exchange of any kind.[2][5]

Usage notes

The dated phrase troc pour troc meant a straight swap with nothing paid in addition.[2][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 u 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b 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. 13/2, 317a
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Troc.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/troc. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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