aïeul

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French aiol, aiuel, from Vulgar Latin *aviolus, ultimately from Latin avus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.jœl/

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Noun

aïeul m (plural aïeuls or aïeux, feminine aïeule)

1. grandfather; grandparent

   Synonyms: grand-père; grand-parent

2. (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!

3. (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.