berceau
French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French berçuel (diminutive of bers) from Vulgar Latin berciolum diminutive of *bertium, from Gaulish *berta, from Proto-Celtic *bertā, variant of *bereti (“to carry”).
Compare Old Irish bert (“bundle”). Cognate with Catalan bressol, Portuguese berço and Galician berce
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
berceau m (plural berceaux)
- cradle, crib (bed for a baby)
- (figuratively) cradle, birthplace, place of origin
- (architecture) arch, vault
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “berceau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.