Etymograph

English

monocoque

Monocoque comes from French monocoque, from coque ‘shell, hull’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek κόκκος ‘grain, seed, berry’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόκκος1kókkos‘grain, seed, berry’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoccum2‘berry’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coque2‘shell’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoque3‘shell, hull’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentmonocoque4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1964monocoque4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin coccum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French coque
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French monocoque
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English monocoque
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, G. Freeman Allen, The BRB shows traders the Liner train prototypes: “The body is a one-piece monocoque structure of glass…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόκκοςWiktionary, Latin coccumkókkos‘grain, seed, berry’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoccumWiktionary, French coque‘berry’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400coqueWiktionary, French coque‘shell’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcoqueWiktionary, French monocoque‘shell, hull’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentmonocoqueWiktionary, English monocoque
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1964monocoqueWiktionary, English monocoque. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, G. Freeman Allen, The BRB shows traders the Liner train prototypes: “The body is a one-piece monocoque structure of glass…”

first attested First attested in 1914: from the French monocoque (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1914: from the French monocoque.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Old French coque ‘shell’

cock, 2 more

through French coque ‘shell, hull’

cocoon, 2 more

Today it means

noun A structure design in which the frame and body are built as a single integrated structure.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “monocoque”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin coccum, French coque, French monocoque. 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 κόκκος / monocoque

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