garçon

See also: garcon, Garcon, and Garçon

English

Alternative forms

• garcon

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wreg-der.

Proto-Germanic *wrekaną

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-yos

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-i-

Proto-Indo-European *-ō

Proto-Germanic *-jô

Proto-Germanic *wrakjô

Frankish *wrakkjōbor.

Early Medieval Latin garciōder.

Old French garçon

Middle French garçon

French garçonbor.

English garçon

From French garçon m (1788), from Old French garçon, oblique case of gars (“servant”), from Medieval Latin garciō m, from Frankish *wrakkjō (“servant, boy”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, driven one”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to drive”). Doublet of garson and wretch.

Cognate with Old High German wrecheo, recko (“exile, warrior, hero”) (Modern German Recke), Old Saxon wrekkio (“a banished person, exile, stranger”), Old English wreċċa (“a wretch, stranger, exile”), and perhaps to Old Norse rekkr (“man, warrior, hero”). More at wreak.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑː(ɹ)ˈsɒn/, /ɡɑː(ɹ)ˈsɒ̃/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒn

Noun

garçon (plural garçons)

1. A male waiter (especially at a French restaurant).

Related terms

• en garçon

Translations

a male waiter (in a French context) — see also waiter

• Dutch: garçon (nl) m
• French: garçon (fr) m
• Georgian: გარსონი (garsoni), ოფიციანტი (opicianṭi)
• German: Garçon (de) m
• Russian: гарсо́н (ru) m (garsón)
• Thai: บ๋อย (th) (bɔ̌i)

References

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition (1997)

Anagrams

• Corgan, cargon

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French garçon.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

garçon m (plural garçons, diminutive garçontje n)

1. waiter in a bar, restaurant etc.

   Synonyms: kelner, ober

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Compare French garçon.

Noun

garçon m (plural garçons) (ORB, broad)

1. boy

   Synonym: fely

   Coordinate term: felye (“girl”)

2. son

   Synonym: fely

   Coordinate term: felye (“daughter”)

References

• garçon in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• garçon in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French garçon, from Old French garçon, garçun m (“servant, boy”), from Early Medieval Latin garciōnem, accusative of garciō m (“mercenary, servant, boy”), from Frankish *wrakkjō (“servant, boy”), from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô (“exile, driven one”). Cognate with Modern German Recke ("warrior"), Old English wreċċa (“exile, outcast”), whence Modern English wretch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaʁ.sɔ̃/

• Audio; “un garçon”:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost)):

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Paris)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

garçon m (plural garçons)

1. boy

   Synonym: gamin m

   Il a deux garçons et une fille.

   He has two boys and a girl.

2. (by extension) young man; man

   Synonym: homme m

3. Generic name of a male employee in some industries

   Hypernym: employé m

   Hyponyms: garçon de café m, garçon de ferme m, garçon de salle m

4. ellipsis of garçon de café

   Garçon, l'addition s'il vous plaît. ― Waiter, the bill please.

Derived terms

• enterrement de vie de garçon
• garçon de cabine
• garçon de café
• garçon de caisse
• garçon de cuisine
• garçon de ferme
• garçon de restaurant
• garçon de salle
• garçon de service
• garçon d'étage
• garçon d'honneur
• garçon d'hôtel
• garçon manqué
• garçonnet
• garçonnière
• mauvais garçon

Descendants

• Guianese Creole: garson
• Haitian Creole: gason
• Mauritian Creole: garson
• Réunion Creole French: garson
• Seychellois Creole: garson
• → Dutch: garçon
• → English: garçon, garcon
• → German: Garçon
• → Greek: γκαρσόνι (gkarsóni)
• → Italian: garzone
• → Persian: گارسون (gârson)
• → Polish: garson
• → Portuguese: garçom, garçon
• → Romanian: garson
• → Russian: гарсо́н (garsón)
• → Slovak: garsón, garsónka
• → Spanish: garzón
• → Turkish: garson

See also

• fille f
• fils m

References

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition (1997)

Further reading

• “garçon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Norman

Alternative forms

• garçaon (Guernsey)

Etymology

Borrowed from French garçon. Displaced native hardé.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

garçon m (plural garçons)

1. (Jersey) boy

Old French

Alternative forms

• garson, garceon, garçun

Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin garciō m, from Frankish *wrakkjō m, from Proto-Germanic *wrakjô m.

Noun

garçon oblique singular, m (oblique plural garçons, nominative singular gars, nominative plural garçon)

1. manservant

   Synonym: vaslet

Descendants

• Middle French: garçon, garson
  • French: garçon (see there for further descendants), gars
• Norman: garçon, garchon
• Picard: garçon, garchon
• → Middle English: garsoun, garson, garcion, gorison (Late Middle English), garsown (East Saxon)
  • English: garson, garcion (obsolete)
  • Middle Scots: gersone
• → Irish: gasúr, garsún
• → Portuguese: garoto

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wreg-der.

Proto-Germanic *wrekaną

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-yos

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-i-

Proto-Indo-European *-ō

Proto-Germanic *-jô

Proto-Germanic *wrakjô

Frankish *wrakkjōbor.

Early Medieval Latin garciōder.

Old French garçon

Middle French garçon

French garçonubor.

Portuguese garçon

Unadapted borrowing from French garçon.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡaʁˈsõ/ [ɡahˈsõ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡaʁˈsõ/ [ɡahˈsõ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ɡaɾˈsõ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ɡaʁˈsõ/ [ɡaχˈsõ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ɡaɻˈsõ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡaɾˈsõ/

• Hyphenation: gar‧çon

Noun

garçon m (plural garçons)

1. alternative spelling of garçom

Further reading

• “garçon”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026