aïeul
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old French aiol, aiuel, from Vulgar Latin *aviolus, ultimately from Latin avus.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
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, “Ô Canada”, Adolphe-Basile Routhier (lyrics), Calixa Lavallée (music):
- 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 edit
- The irregular plural aïeux is now used only in the sense of “ancestors, forefathers”.
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “aïeul”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.