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vol

Etymology and origin of the French word vol

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French has two nouns spelled vol, “flight”, from voler “to fly”, and “theft”, from voler “to steal”.[1][2][3]

vol1 flight

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1172–1190, Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval
Ultimate origin
Latin (volō)

Pronunciation

Forms

vol m (plural vols)[4]

Etymology

The flight is a deverbal noun from voler “to fly”.[2][5][1][6][4] That verb is from Latin volō (“to fly”).[6]

Compare Occitan vol, Spanish vuelo, Portuguese voo and Italian volo.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval (1172–90) uses it for a bird's flight; the Roncevaux has Il prit son vol of a sparrowhawk.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

De plein vol “straight, directly” is in Renart (1205–50), and prendre son vol (13th century) became figurative: Prends ton vol, mon petit livre (d'Aubigné, about 1580).[2][5] By metonymy it is a bird's wingspan (13th century), two wings in heraldry (1611), hawking (1373–76) and a flock of birds (1530).[2][5] From falconry come haut vol and bas vol (1450–86) and de haut vol “of high standing”, now said of a big-time swindler (1788).[5]

À vol d'oiseau “as the crow flies” dates from 1771.[5] In the 19th century aeronautics gave vol à voile and vol ramé (1864) and vol plané (1869), and in the 20th the flight of an aircraft: vol Paris–New York.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1172–1190 – A bird's flight, Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • 1205–1250 – De plein vol.[2]
  • 1376 – Hawking, Modus et Ratio.[2]
  • 1530 – A flock of birds, Palsgrave.[2]
  • 1771 – À vol d'oiseau.[5]
  • 1869 – Vol plané.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. flight of birds or insects: prendre son vol, en plein vol, au vol, in flight.[7][4]
  2. The flight of an aircraft, vol à voile, gliding.[2][7]
  3. A flock: un vol de canards.[2][5]
  4. À vol d'oiseau: as the crow flies.[5]
  5. De haut vol: of high standing, big-time.[5]

vol2 theft

Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1610
Ultimate origin
Latin (volō)

Pronunciation

Forms

vol m (plural vols)[4]

Etymology

The theft is a deverbal noun from the verb voler “to steal”, replacing volement (1594).[1][8][5][4] That verb is the same as the verb “to fly”: it developed in falconry, in phrases such as “ce faucon vole la perdrix” “this falcon flies at the partridge”, and became usual in the second half of the 16th century (1549, Bloch and Wartburg).[6][5] Bloch and Wartburg compare the development of Latin involō (“to fly at; to steal”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Histoire de la navigation of Jean Hugues de Linscot (1610) uses it for taking another's property.[8][5]

Semantic evolution

Corneille (1635) uses it figuratively, and Molière (1668) for the thing stolen.[8][5] Furetière (1690) has vol qualifié and vol domestique, and the sense of cheating someone, especially in trade, as in c'est du vol ! “that's daylight robbery!”.[8][5] Vol à la tire “pickpocketing” is recorded in 1832, and vol à l'américaine in Littré (1872).[8]

Timeline

  • 1594 – Volement.[5]
  • 1610 – Vol “theft”.[1][8]
  • 1635 – Figurative use, Corneille.[8]
  • 1668 – The thing stolen, Molière.[8]
  • 1690 – Vol qualifié, c'est du vol.[8][5]
  • 1832 – Vol à la tire.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. theft, robbery: commettre un vol, vol à main armée, vol avec effraction, vol à l'étalage.[7][4]
  2. Something stolen: un vol de bijoux.[8][5]
  3. Overcharging, cheating: c'est du vol !.[5][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d 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
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Vol.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vol. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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