English
troubadour
Troubadour comes from Old Occitan trobar ‘to find’, and goes back to Vulgar Latin *tropāre.
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tropāre‘find’reconstructed
- Old Occitanc. 950–1500trobar‘to find’by way of Old French troubadour
- Englishearliest quotation 2014troubadour
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*tropāre‘find’reconstructed
- Old Occitanc. 950–1500trobar‘to find’by way of Old French troubadour
- Englishearliest quotation 2014troubadour
Earliest quotation: 2014, Alan Cowell, At Pistorius trial, Twitterati have their day in court: “Sitting in the courtroom ..., their laptops and tablets…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *trep- ‘to turn’
thrive, intrepid, trepidation, turpitude, 31 more
through Ancient Greek τρέπω ‘turn, divert, turn back, rout an enemy’
through Latin tropus ‘figurative use of a word’
through Vulgar Latin *tropāre ‘find’
Today it means
noun An itinerant composer and performer of songs in medieval Europe; a jongleur or travelling minstrel.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Vulgar Latin *tropāre / troubadour