French words from Greek
7 French words with Greek in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
beurre
It is inherited from Old French burre, inherited from Latin būtyrum, borrowed from Ancient Greek βούτυρον (boúturon, “butter; ointment”), literally “cow cheese”, from βοῦς (boûs, “cow”) and τυρός…
cerise
It is inherited from Old French cerise, inherited from Vulgar Latin *ceresia, a neuter plural taken as a feminine singular, from Late Latin ceresium (6th century), a variant of imperial cerasium…
chaire
It is inherited from Old French chaere, by regular sound change inherited from Latin cathedra (“chair with a back”), borrowed from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “seat; teacher's chair; throne”)…
chrome
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χρῶμα (khrôma, “colour of the skin; colour; ornament of style; chromatic music”), through Latin chrōma according to Rey and the Petit Robert, derived from χρώς…
église
It is inherited from Old French eglise, inherited from Vulgar Latin eclesia, a frequent popular form of Christian Latin ecclēsia, borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “assembly of…
gingembre
It is inherited from Old French gingibre, inherited from Late Latin gingiber, from classical zingiberi, borrowed from Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis, “ginger”), a word of eastern origin: Rey…
mètre
1. The unit is borrowed from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”), adopted by a law of 26 March 1791 during the work on the metric system. Late Latin metrum already meant a measuring instrument…