drôle (French)
Where does "drôle" come from?
The French word 'drôle' traces its roots back to the Proto-Germanic term *truzlą, which originally referred to a supernatural being like a monster or giant. Over time, it traveled through Old Norse and Middle Dutch, softening from a 'goblin' or 'fat little man' into the Old French description of a luxurious person and eventually a 'merry fellow' in Middle French. Today, the word retains this playful history, used to describe things that are amusing or whimsically strange.
Full etymology tree
- drôle (French), 'funny, amusing'
- inherited drolle (Middle French), 'funny; amusing'
- inherited drolle (Old French)
- borrowed drol (Middle Dutch)
- inherited troll (Old Norse)
- inherited *truzlą (Proto-Germanic), 'a supernatural being; demon; fiend; giant; monster'
- inherited troll (Old Norse)
- borrowed drol (Middle Dutch)
- inherited drolle (Old French)
- inherited drolle (Middle French), 'funny; amusing'
Ancestors
- drolle (Middle French)
- *truzlą (Proto-Germanic)
Descendants and derived words
- droll (English)
- droll (English)
- droll (English)
- droll (English)
- drola (Esperanto)
- drolatique (French)
- drôle de guerre (French)
- drôlement (French)
- drôlerie (French)
- drol (Louisiana Creole)
- dròl (Louisiana Creole)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris