aïeul
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French aiol, aiuel, from Vulgar Latin *aviolus, ultimately from Latin avus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.jœl/
Audio (file) Audio (Paris) (file)
Noun
aïeul m (plural aïeuls or aïeux, feminine aïeule)
- grandfather; grandparent
- Synonyms: grand-père; grand-parent
- (by extension) ancestor, forefather
- Synonyms: ancêtre, ascendant, père, grand-père
- 1880, Calixa Lavallée (lyrics and music), “Ô Canada”:
- Ô Canada, terre de nos aïeux,/ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
- O Canada, land of our forefathers, thy brow is wreathed with glorious garlands!
- (by extension) old man
- Synonyms: vieillard, vieux, grand-père
Usage notes
- The irregular plural aïeux is now used only in the sense of “ancestors, forefathers”.
Derived terms
- bisaïeul
- trisaïeul
- quadrisaïeul
- quinquisaïeul
Further reading
- “aïeul”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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