orteil

French

Etymology

From Middle French and Old French orteil, variant of arteil (“toe”), from Latin articulus (“knuckle”). Doublet of article, of learned origin. Cognate with Occitan artelh (“toe”), Catalan artell, Spanish artejo (both “knuckle”). The semantic development in Gallo-Romance as well as the French o- are believed to have been influenced by Gaulish ordiga (“toe [?]”); compare Old Irish orddu lamae (“thumb”). The older plural orteux was attested in Middle French until the 16th century and still survives dialectally.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔʁ.tɛj/

• Audio:

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Noun

orteil m (plural orteils)

1. toe

   Synonym: doigt de pied

   Coordinate term: doigt

Derived terms

• gros orteil

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• toiler