Etymologically
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vitre

Etymology and origin of the French word vitre

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1269–1278, Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose
Borrowed from
Latin vitrum
Ultimate origin
Latin (vitrum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vitʁ/[1]

Forms

vitre f (plural vitres)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vitrum (“glass”), a learned doublet of verre, the inherited outcome of the same Latin word.[2][3][1][4] The derivative vitreux is found earlier, in 1256.[3] Compare Spanish vidrio and Catalan vidre.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean de Meun uses it in the Roman de la Rose (1269–1278) for glass as a material: a ring plus clere que cristal ne vitre.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In 1370 it meant a glazed window, and in 1454 a large stained-glass window, now archaic.[2][3] The modern sense, a pane of glass in a window, dates from 1549, the same year Du Bellay used it for a glass placed in front of something precious, such as relics.[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that glazing windows, unknown to the ancients, developed in the Middle Ages.[6]

Oudin (1660) records it for the window of a carriage or a shop.[2][3] Rousseau (before 1778) has casser les vitres figuratively, “to speak with brutal frankness”, later “to cause a scandal”.[2][3] In Quebec French it still means glass as a material.[3][1]

Timeline

  • 1256 – The derivative vitreux.[3]
  • 1269–1278 – “Glass”, in Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1370 – A glazed window.[2]
  • 1370 – The derivative vitrier.[6][3]
  • 1549 – A pane of glass in a window.[2]
  • 1660 – The window of a carriage, in Oudin.[2]
  • Before 1778 – Casser les vitres, in Rousseau.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A windowpane, a pane of glass in a window or door: nettoyer les vitres, faire les vitres.[7][2]
  2. The window of a vehicle: baisser la vitre.[7][1]
  3. A glass panel protecting something on display.[2][3]
  4. Casser les vitres: to make a scene, ça ne casse pas les vitres, it is nothing special.[7]
  5. (Quebec) Glass as a material.[1][3]

Word family

  • vitrage
  • vitrail
  • vitrer
  • vitrier
  • vitrine
  • vitrerie
  • vitré

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 568a
  5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Vitre.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vitre. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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