Masculine

orteil

Meaning

Concepts

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɔʁ.tɛj/

Cognate with Old Irish

Inherited from Old French

Inherited from Latin

Cognate with Occitan

Cognate with Spanish

In summary

From Middle French and Old French orteil, variant of arteil (“toe”), from Latin articulus (“knuckle”). Doublet of article, of learned origin. Cognate with Occitan artelh (“toe”), Catalan artell, Spanish artejo (both “knuckle”). The semantic development in Gallo-Romance as well as the French o- are believed to have been influenced by Gaulish ordiga (“toe [?]”); compare Old Irish orddu lamae (“thumb”). The older plural orteux was attested in Middle French until the 16th century and still survives dialectally.