English
Saint Louis
Saint Louis comes from French Saint-Louis.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentSaint-Louis
- Englishearliest quotation 1876Saint Louis
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentSaint-Louis
- Englishearliest quotation 1876Saint Louis
Earliest quotation: 1876, Mark Twain: “...that Saint Louis smarty that thinks he dresses so…”
The story
From French Saint-Louis, usually after King Louis IX of France (sometimes with oblique reference to later French kings named Louis). Sometimes after other places named for him. In the case of the Minnesota river, thought to reference its French discoverer's recent Cross of Saint Louis, named for the French king.
Every English word from French Saint-Louis
Today it means
name A city in eastern Missouri, United States, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and formerly important in the westward expansion of the United States.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French Saint-Louis / Saint Louis