English
fourneau
Fourneau comes from French fourneau ‘stove (cooker)’, from Middle French fourneau ‘furnace’, and ultimately from Old French forn ‘oven’.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400forn‘oven’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400forneldiminutive of forn
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fourneau‘furnace’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘stove (cooker)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400forn‘oven’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400forneldiminutive of forn
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fourneau‘furnace’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘stove (cooker)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809same form
Earliest quotation: 1809, Louis de Tousard: “The quantity of powder to charge the fourneau depends…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- ‘to be warm’
warm, thermal, gore, gory, thermos, forceps, garlick, 17 more
through Latin fornus
Today it means
noun The chamber of a mine in which the powder is placed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French forn / fourneau