romans
Old French
Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Northern French) · historical / hidden variety
Old French (françois, romanz) is the Romance language of northern France from the 9th to the 14th centuries CE, the direct ancestor of Middle and Modern French. Earliest attestation: the Strasbourg Oaths (842 CE). Major literary monuments include the chansons de geste (Chanson de Roland, ~1100), Chrétien de Troyes's Arthurian romances (~1170-1190, including the first Arthurian Grail narrative), the Lais of Marie de France, the Roman de la Rose (Guillaume de Lorris ~1230, Jean de Meun ~1275), and the Romance of Renart. Anglo-Norman, the dialect taken to England with the 1066 Norman Conquest, became the prestige courtly and legal language of Plantagenet England — vast loanwords in modern English derive from this period.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Old French
Water
eve
/ˈɛːvə/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
soleil
/soˈleʎ/
Moon
lune
/ˈlynə/
Mother
mere
/ˈmɛrə/
Father
pere
/ˈpɛrə/
Eat
mangier
/manˈdʒjer/
Drink
boivre
/ˈbojvrə/
Love
amor
/aˈmor/
Heart
cuer
/kwɛr/
Tree
arbre
/ˈarbrə/
House
maison
/maiˈzõn/
Dog
chien
/tʃjɛn/
Cat
chat
/tʃat/
Hand
main
/mɛ̃j/
Eye
oeil
/œʎ/
Hello
salut
/saˈlyt/
Thank you
merci
/mɛrˈsi/
One
un
/yn/
Good
bon
/bõn/
Sources
- Pope (1934) From Latin to Modern French
- Greimas (1979) Dictionnaire de l'ancien français
- Glottolog: oldf1239
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, Northern French) languages
| Meaning | Old French | Walloon | Piedmontese | Arpitan | Classical French (17c., Bel Usage) | Jèrriais | Occitan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | eve /ˈɛːvə/ | aiwe /ˈajwə/ | eva /ˈeva/ | égoua /eɡwɔ/ | eau /o/ | ieau /jo/ | aiga /ajɡɔ/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /føː/ | fuè /fwɛ/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | fuòc /fwɔk/ |
| Sun | soleil /soˈleʎ/ | solea /soˈlea/ | sol /sol/ | solely /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | solé /sɔˈle/ | solelh /sulɛʎ/ |
| Moon | lune /ˈlynə/ | lune /ˈlyn/ | lun-a /ˈlyna/ | lena /lənə/ | lune /lyn/ | leune /løːn/ | luna /lyno/ |
| Mother | mere /ˈmɛrə/ | mame /mam/ | mare /ˈmare/ | mâre /mar/ | mère /mɛːr/ | mère /mɛːr/ | maire /majre/ |
| Father | pere /ˈpɛrə/ | peure /pœːr/ | pare /ˈpare/ | pâre /par/ | père /pɛːr/ | péthe /peːð/ | paire /ˈpajɾe/ |
| Eat | mangier /manˈdʒjer/ | magnî /maˈɲi/ | mangé /maɲˈdʒe/ | mengiér /mendʒje/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | mangi /mɑ̃ˈʒi/ | manjar /mandʒa/ |
| Drink | boivre /ˈbojvrə/ | boere /bweːr/ | bèive /ˈbɛive/ | bêre /beːr/ | boire /bweːr/ | baithe /baɪð/ | béure /bewre/ |
| Love | amor /aˈmor/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amor /aˈmur/ | amor /amur/ | amour /amur/ | amour /aˈmuːr/ | amor /amur/ |
| Heart | cuer /kwɛr/ | cour /kuːr/ | cheur /kør/ | côr /kɔr/ | cœur /kœːr/ | tchoeu /tʃœ/ | còr /kɔr/ |
| Tree | arbre /ˈarbrə/ | åbe /ˈɔːb/ | àrbol /ˈarbol/ | âbro /abru/ | arbre /aːrbr/ | bouais /bwɛ/ | arbre /arbre/ |
| House | maison /maiˈzõn/ | måjhon /mɔːˈʒõ/ | ca /ka/ | mêson /meːzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maîson /mɛˈzɔ̃/ | ostal /ustal/ |
| Dog | chien /tʃjɛn/ | tchin /tʃɛ̃/ | can /kaŋ/ | chen /tʃɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | tchian /tʃjɑ̃/ | can /ka/ |
| Cat | chat /tʃat/ | tchèt /tʃɛ/ | gat /ɡat/ | chat /tʃa/ | chat /ʃaː/ | cat /kat/ | gat /ɡat/ |
| Hand | main /mɛ̃j/ | min /mɛ̃/ | man /maŋ/ | man /mã/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | man /ma/ |
| Eye | oeil /œʎ/ | ouy /uj/ | euj /øj/ | uely /œj/ | œil /œːj/ | yi /ji/ | uèlh /wɛʎ/ |
| Hello | salut /saˈlyt/ | bondjoû /bõˈd͡ʒu/ | ciao /tʃao/ | adiô /adjo/ | Dieu vous garde /djø vu ɡard/ | bouônjour /bwɔ̃ˈʒuːr/ | adieu /adjew/ |
| Thank you | merci /mɛrˈsi/ | mèrci /mɛrˈsi/ | gràssie /ˈɡrasːie/ | mèrci /mɛrsi/ | grâces /ɡraːs/ | mèrcie /mɛrˈsi/ | mercés /merses/ |
| One | un /yn/ | onk /õk/ | un /yŋ/ | yon /jɔ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | ieune /jøːn/ | un /yn/ |
| Good | bon /bõn/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /buŋ/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bouôn /bwɔ̃/ | bon /bu/ |
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