Etymograph

English

gamin

Gamin comes from French gamin ‘a street urchin’.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentgamin‘a street urchin’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1854same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentgamin‘a street urchin’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1854same form

Earliest quotation: 1854, Alexis Benoît Soyer, London; New York: “Dearest Eloise,— There is one little and perhaps insignificant…”

The story

Borrowed from French gamin (‘a street urchin; a young boy’), apparently an “eastern dialect” word of unknown origin.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from French gamin

Today it means

noun A homeless boy; a male street urchin; also (more generally), a cheeky, street-smart boy.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / French gamin / gamin

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