chômedu (French)

Where does "chômedu" come from?

The French noun 'chômedu' is formed from 'chômage' combined with the suffix '-du'[1]. The root 'chômage' derives from 'chômer'[2], which traces back through Late Latin 'caumāre'[3] meaning 'to rest during the heat' from the Ancient Greek 'kaûma'[3][6] for heat. This Greek noun originates from 'kaíō'[4], meaning 'to burn', which goes back to Proto-Hellenic and potentially the Proto-Indo-European root '*keh₂w-' meaning 'to burn'[7].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Proto-Hellenic form '*káyyō' is uncertain, with a possible connection to Proto-Indo-European '*keh₂w-' meaning 'to burn'. [7]

Full etymology tree

• chômedu (French), 'synonym of chômage (“unemployment”)'
  • derived chômage (French), 'idleness'
    • derived chômer (French), 'to be idle'
      • inherited caumare (Latin), 'inflection of caumō:'
        • derived καῦμα (kaûma) (Ancient Greek), 'burning, glow, heat (especially of the sun)'
          • derived καίω (kaíō) (Ancient Greek), 'to light, kindle, set on fire'
            • derived *káyyō (Proto-Hellenic)
          • suffix -μα (-ma) (Ancient Greek), 'Added to verbal stems to form neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, a particular instance of an action, or the object of an action'
    • suffix -age (French), 'Forming nouns with the sense of "action or result of Xing" or, more rarely, "action related to X".'
  • suffix -du (French)

Ancestors

• chômage (French)

Sources

1. chômedu (French) - Wiktionary
2. chômage (French) - Wiktionary
3. chômer (French) - Wiktionary
4. καῦμα (kaûma) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
5. caumo (Latin) - Wiktionary
6. cauma (Latin) - Wiktionary
7. καίω (kaíō) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris