souler (French)
Where does "souler" come from?
The French verb 'souler' is inherited from Old French 'saüler', which came from Latin 'satullāre'[1]. That Latin verb was formed from 'satullus', a diminutive of 'satur', meaning full or sated[1][3]. The root behind 'satur' is reconstructed as Proto-Indo-European '*seh₂-', meaning to satiate or be satisfied, and it is related to Latin 'satis', meaning enough[4]. Modern French senses range from the literal 'to fill up as if with food' to the drink-related 'to get drunk' and the figurative 'to exasperate'. Italian 'satollare', meaning 'to stuff', is a cognate form[1].
Open questions
- The diminutive link between 'satullus' and 'satur' is described only as one that may be seen as a diminutive, so the formation is not fully settled. [2] [3]
- The Proto-Indo-European root '*seh₂-' and the early form '*saturos' are reconstructions, and the loss of the middle vowel is presumed rather than directly attested. [4]
Full etymology tree
- souler (French), 'to get (someone) drunk, to inebriate'
- inherited sauler (Old French), 'to satisfy; to satiate'
- inherited satullare (Latin), 'present active infinitive of satullō'
- derived satullus (Latin), 'diminutive of satur (“full, sated, satisfied”)'
- affix satur (Latin), 'full, sated'
- derived *seh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to satiate, satisfy'
- derived *saturos (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix -lus (Latin), 'alternative form of -ulus'
- affix satur (Latin), 'full, sated'
- derived satullus (Latin), 'diminutive of satur (“full, sated, satisfied”)'
- inherited satullare (Latin), 'present active infinitive of satullō'
- inherited sauler (Old French), 'to satisfy; to satiate'
Ancestors
- sauler (Old French)
- satullo (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- satollare (Italian)
Sources
- souler (French) - Wiktionary
- satullo (Latin) - Wiktionary
- satullus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- satur (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris