Talk:loup

I'd like to see a source for the claim that "loup" is from Provencal "lop". The regular form may be "leu", but "lou" was a variant within Langue d'oïl. The -p is certainly not an argument given the frequence of re-Latinized spellings in Middle French. The Trésor informatisé says nothing about Provencal. And even says about the -p: par infl[uence] étymologique. The claim might still be true, but it's obviously doubtful.

You are right, this etymology is supported by no source and is not relevant, because it is a basic word. The etymology is discussed here [1] as you wrote, based on the best sources : "La forme régionale d'ancien français leu a été remplacée par lou, probablement sous l'influence combinée de la forme dialectale de l'Ouest et du féminin louve (Pope, § 230, 343, 489; v. aussi FEW t. 5, p. 462 a); loup, par infl. étymol." [2]. There is no doubt about it : -leu is a place-name element north of the Seine-River (North-Norman and Picard form) in the several "Canteleu", but in West-Norman the same place-name is "Cantelou", corresponding to Central French Chanteloup.Nortmannus (talk) 09:29, 25 June 2024 (UTC)