Etymograph

English

jongleur

Jongleur comes from French jongleur ‘an entertainer’, from Latin iocor ‘to joke, to jest’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to utter’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yek-1‘to utter’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yókos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jokos1‘utterance’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocus1‘joke, jest’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocor2‘to joke, to jest’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jangleor3
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentjongleur4‘an entertainer’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1874jongleur4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin iocor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French jangleor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French jongleur
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English jongleur
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1874, John Richard Green: “vivacity and picturesqueness of the jongleur's verse”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yek-Wiktionary, Latin iocor‘to utter’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yókosWiktionary, Latin iocorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jokosWiktionary, Latin iocor‘utterance’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocusWiktionary, Latin iocor‘joke, jest’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiocorWiktionary, Old French jangleor‘to joke, to jest’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jangleorWiktionary, French jongleur
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentjongleurWiktionary, English jongleur‘an entertainer’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1874jongleurWiktionary, English jongleur. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1874, John Richard Green: “vivacity and picturesqueness of the jongleur's verse”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to utter’

jocular, 2 more

through Latin iocus ‘joke, jest’

joke, hoax, 2 more

through Latin iocor ‘to joke, to jest’

jogger

Today it means

noun An itinerant entertainer in medieval England and France; roles included song, music, acrobatics etc.; a troubadour.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jongleur”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin iocor, Old French jangleor, French jongleur. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *yek- / jongleur

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