Etymograph

English

fromage

Fromage comes from French fromage ‘cheese’, from Latin fōrma ‘mould’, and perhaps ultimately from Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, fashion, appearance, outward form,…’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμορφή1‘shape, fashion, appearance, outward form, contour, figure’uncertain
  2. Etruscanmodern*morma1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma2‘mould’
  4. Early Medieval Latinmodernfōrmāticum2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400formage2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600froumaige2‘cheese’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentfromage3‘cheese’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1836fromage3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin forma
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French fromage
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English fromage
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, Louis Eustache Ude, Fromages or Cheeses, or Iced Bavarian Cheeses: “It will be necessary to premise, that there is…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμορφήWiktionary, Latin forma‘shape, fashion, appearance, outward form, contour, figure’uncertain
  2. Etruscanmodern*mormaWiktionary, Latin formauncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmaWiktionary, French fromage‘mould’
  4. Early Medieval LatinmodernfōrmāticumWiktionary, French fromage
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400formageWiktionary, French fromage
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600froumaigeWiktionary, French fromage‘cheese’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentfromageWiktionary, English fromage‘cheese’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1836fromageWiktionary, English fromage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, Louis Eustache Ude, Fromages or Cheeses, or Iced Bavarian Cheeses: “It will be necessary to premise, that there is…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, fashion, appearance, outward form,…’

transformation, morphology, morph, uniformity, informatics, deformable, 27 more

through Etruscan *morma

information, reform, formula, uniform, formation, format, formal, inform, forma, deform, 20 more

through Latin fōrma ‘mould’

form, 34 more

Today it means

noun Synonym of cheese.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fromage”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin forma, French fromage. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek μορφή / fromage

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