aïeul

French

Etymology

From Old French aiol, aiuel, from Vulgar Latin *aviōlus, diminutive of Latin avus. Compare Asturian güelu, Galician avó, Portuguese avô, Spanish abuelo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.jœl/
  • (file)
  • (file)

Noun

aïeul m (plural aïeux or aïeuls, feminine aïeule)

  1. grandfather
  2. (by extension) old man
  3. ancestor

Usage notes

The plural form aïeuls is used to designate precisely one's own grandfathers; the form aïeux can mean ancestors in a more generic sense, as in people who have lived in the past, or one's own unspecified ancestors.

Derived terms

Further reading

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