Chemin
/ʃəˈmɛ̃/noun
A French noun meaning a path, way, or road.
Did you know?Chemin is related to Spanish camino, showing how a Celtic or Gaulish road word survived through Latin and spread across Romance languages.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Gaul
Gaulish
camminos
“A path or road; a probable Celtic source for the later Romance forms.”
Late Antiquity
Late Latin
camminus
“A road or way, borrowed or adapted from Gaulish.”
9th–10th Century
Old French
camin
“A road, path, or route.”
12th Century
Old French
chemin
“A road, way, or passage; the spelling developed under French sound changes.”
Modern French
French
chemin
“A path, road, route, or figurative way forward.”