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trottoir

Etymology and origin of the French word trottoir

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1577, Vigenère, translation of Chalcondyle
Ultimate origin
Frankish (*trottōn)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʁɔ.twaʁ/[1]

Forms

trottoir m (plural trottoirs)[1] Trottouer (1577), trouttouer (1625).[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French trotter + -oir, “a place for trotting”.[2][4][3][1] trotter is borrowed from Frankish *trottōn, an intensive form of the family of German treten (“to tread”); compare trotten.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are figurative: être sur le trottouer “to be in view, on the front of the stage” (1577, Vigenère), and in Montaigne (before 1592) se jeter bien avant sur le trottoir “to put oneself forward”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Duez (1660) has it for the track where horse dealers trotted their horses, and the Académie (1694) says of a girl that she is sur le trottoir when of an age to marry.[2][3] Littré notes that it was first the footway along the quays of Paris; the raised walkway for pedestrians at the sides of a street is first clearly attested in Mercier's Tableau de Paris (1782).[6][2]

Faire le trottoir “to walk the streets, solicit” is recorded in 1852, and le trottoir for the world of prostitution in Delvau (1867).[2][7] Theatre slang called the classical repertory le grand trottoir (1840) and melodramas and vaudevilles le petit trottoir (1866).[2] The trottoir roulant “moving walkway” was shown at the Exposition of 1900.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1577 – Être sur le trottouer “to be in view”.[2][4]
  • before 1592 – Se jeter sur le trottoir, in Montaigne.[2]
  • 1660 – A track for trotting horses, in Duez.[2]
  • 1694 – Être sur le trottoir, of a girl of marriageable age.[2]
  • 1782 – A raised footway beside a street, in Mercier.[2]
  • 1852 – Faire le trottoir.[2][7]
  • 1900 – Trottoir roulant.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pavement, sidewalk, the raised path for pedestrians at the side of a street.[7][1]
  2. Faire le trottoir: to walk the streets, work as a prostitute.[7][2]
  3. Trottoir roulant: a moving walkway.[7][2]
  4. (dated) A raised walkway along a quay or bridge.[7][6]
  5. (obsolete) A track where horses are trotted.[7][2]
  • trotter
  • trot
  • trottiner
  • trottinette

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Trottoir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/trottoir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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