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vague

Etymology and origin of the French word vague

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inherited borrowed derived
Latin vacuus
French vague
Latin vacuo
Latin vacuitas

vague1 wave

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1130 (wage); 1150 (vague)
Borrowed from
Old Norse vágr
Ultimate origin
Old Norse (vágr)

Pronunciation

Forms

vague f (plural vagues)[1] Old French wage (about 1130), vague (1150).[2][3]

Etymology

The wave is borrowed from Old Norse vágr (“sea”), according to the FEW, Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert; compare Middle High German wâge and German Woge.[2][4][3][5] Wiktionary traces the Norse word to Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“wave, storm”), related to Old English wǣg.[1] Rey links it with an Indo-European root of movement also seen in English wag.[3]

Pierre Guiraud proposed instead a Latin origin, from Latin vadum (“ford; poetically water, sea”) through a Gallo-Romance verb *vadicō (“to toss (of the sea)”), whose deverbal noun would be the wave, but this is not borne out.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wage is found about 1130 and vague in 1150 for a mass of water that rises and falls on the surface of the sea.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

By analogy the word named anything shaped or moving like waves (1685), and an ornament imitating them in architecture (1842).[3] From 1830 it was used for a surge of feeling (une vague d'enthousiasme), and, from 1892 for a mass of people or things arriving suddenly, as in vague d'assaut (1916).[3] Vague de chaleur and vague de froid date from about 1930, and la nouvelle vague (1957) named a new generation and its art, especially in film.[3] In Quebec faire la vague is said of a crowd's “Mexican wave”.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Wage.[2]
  • 1150 – Vague.[2]
  • 1830 – A surge of feeling.[3]
  • 1916 – Vague d'assaut.[3]
  • 1957 – La nouvelle vague.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wave (of the sea, of a lake).[6][1]
  2. A wave, surge (of feeling, of people or things): une vague de chaleur, une vague de protestations, la nouvelle vague.[3][6]
  3. (familiar) Faire des vagues: to make waves, cause trouble.[6]

Word family

  • vaguelette

vague2 empty

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1230 (vake de)
Borrowed from
Latin vacuus
Ultimate origin
Latin (vacuus)

Pronunciation

Forms

vague (plural vagues)[1]

Etymology

This adjective is borrowed from Latin vacuus (“empty, unoccupied”).[7][4][2][8] Medieval French hesitated between “vaque” and “vague”, and “vague” won by confusion with the adjective from Latin vagus (“vague” 3).[7][4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1230 vake de means “lacking, without” (vake de prestre), and about 1260 the Ménestrel de Reims has siege vagues “empty seats”; in the Middle Ages it was also said of a vacant office.[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Land not built on is terre vacque in 1266, terrain vague, a piece of waste ground in a town, comes from this use, and terres vaines et vagues is a legal phrase in Furetière (1690).[7][6] As a noun le vague meant empty space (le vague de l'air, Buffon), and under the influence of vague 3 it gave regarder dans le vague, “to gaze into space”.[6]

Timeline

  • 1230 – Vake de “without”.[7]
  • 1266 – Terre vacque, unbuilt land.[7]
  • 1589 – Vague of land in a town.[7]
  • 1690 – Terres vaines et vagues, Furetière.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Terrain vague: a piece of waste ground in a town.[6][7]
  2. (dated) Uncultivated, unoccupied (of land).[7]

Noun

  1. Le vague: empty space, regarder dans le vague, to stare into space.[6]

vague3 imprecise

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1213, Faits des Romains
Borrowed from
Latin vagus
Ultimate origin
Latin (vagus)

Pronunciation

Forms

vague (plural vagues)[1]

Etymology

This adjective is borrowed from Latin vagus (“wandering, roving; inconstant, indefinite”).[7][3][4][9] The origin of “vagus” is unknown.[3] Spoken Latin had already given Old French vai “wandering; fickle” (13th century), which disappeared, perhaps because it was so short.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Faits des Romains (1213) has it as a noun, “wanderer, vagrant”; as an adjective “wandering” it is found about 1375 and was used until the 16th century.[7][3][10]

Semantic evolution

From 1316–28 (Ovide moralisé) it described thoughts that are imprecise, not defined, Furetière (1690) has discours vague.[7][3] In the 17th century it was used of what cannot be located exactly (fièvre vague, Cotgrave, 1611) or seen clearly (Corneille, 1672).[7] Painters used le vague for a light, airy manner (1699).[7][3]

The noun le vague became a malaise of the soul (1802), surviving in vague à l'âme (1830).[3][7] The nerf vague (1690) is named after Medieval Latin vagus, for its scattered branches.[3] In 1890 Zola uses the adjective for something of little consequence (un vague service), and in 1895 it is said of loose-fitting clothes.[7]

Timeline

  • 1213 – Noun “wanderer”, Faits des Romains.[7]
  • 1316–28 – “Imprecise”, Ovide moralisé.[7]
  • 1611 – Fièvre vague, Cotgrave.[7]
  • 1690 – Nerf vague.[3]
  • 1830 – Vague à l'âme.[7]
  • 1890 – “Of little consequence”, Zola.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. vague, imprecise, ill-defined: une réponse vague, une vague idée.[1][7]
  2. Indistinct, hazy; hard to locate: une douleur vague.[7]
  3. Some, of little account: un vague cousin.[7][3]
  4. Loose-fitting (of clothes).[7]
  5. (anatomy) Nerf vague: the vagus nerve.[7][3]

Noun

  1. Vagueness, imprecision: rester dans le vague.[1][3]
  2. Vague à l'âme: melancholy, vague sadness.[7][3]

Word family

  • vaguement
  • vagal
  • vacant
  • vagabond
  • English wave

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 418a
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 110b
  9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 127b
  10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

  • but · also from Old Norse
  • lieu · also from Old Norse
  • fleur · also from Latin
  • chute · also from Latin
  • royaume · also from Latin
  • soupe · also from Latin
  • menu · also from Latin
  • chef · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Vague.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vague. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·