folie (French)
Where does "folie" come from?
The French word 'folie' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European root for 'to swell,' which first evolved into the Latin word 'follis,' meaning a bellows or leather bag. This led to the Old French adjective 'fol,' comparing a madman to a 'windbag' or someone full of air, combined with the abstract noun suffix '-ie.' Over time, the term transitioned through Middle French to represent the concept of madness, silliness, or folly as we know it today.
Full etymology tree
- folie (French), 'madness, folly, insanity; silliness, craziness'
- inherited folie (Middle French)
- inherited folie (Old French), 'madness; insanity'
- compound fol (Old French), 'mad; insane'
- inherited follis (Latin), 'bellows'
- inherited *bʰolǵʰ-n-is (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *bʰelǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to swell'
- derived *bʰel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sound; to speak, roar, bark'
- derived *bʰelǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to swell'
- inherited *bʰol-n-is (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *bʰel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sound; to speak, roar, bark'
- inherited *bʰolǵʰ-n-is (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited follis (Latin), 'bellows'
- compound -ie (Old French), 'indicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one'
- inherited -ia (Latin), 'Used to form a first declension feminine abstract noun, usually from an adjective ending in -us, or (rarely in later Latin) one ending in -ius, or from a present participle stem, and occasionally from a root noun.'
- borrowed -ίᾱ (-ía) (Ancient Greek), 'Primitive suffix added to the stems of adjectives in -ύς (-ús) and some nouns to form feminine gender'
- borrowed -ειᾰ (-eiă) (Ancient Greek), 'Superficially appears in abstract nouns derived from σ-stem adjectives, with the true suffix being -ῐᾰ (-ĭă)'
- inherited *i-eh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited -ia (Latin), 'Used to form a first declension feminine abstract noun, usually from an adjective ending in -us, or (rarely in later Latin) one ending in -ius, or from a present participle stem, and occasionally from a root noun.'
- compound fol (Old French), 'mad; insane'
- inherited folie (Old French), 'madness; insanity'
- inherited folie (Middle French)
Ancestors
- folie (Old French)
Descendants and derived words
- faire des folies (French)
- folie des grandeurs (French)
- folie du pourquoi (French)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris