Ciboulette
/si.bu.lɛt/noun
A French word for chives, the slender, onion-flavored herb.
Did you know?Ciboulette descends through Old French forms related to *cive*, the same medieval root that ultimately gave English the word “chive.”
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
cepulla
“Little onion; a diminutive of *cepa*, “onion””
Late Latin
Latin
cepulla
“A small onion or onion-like plant”
Old French
Old French
cive / civette
“Chives or a small onion-like herb”
Middle French
French
ciboulette
“Chives; literally an elaborated diminutive associated with the older *cive* family”
16th–17th Century
French
ciboulette
“The cultivated culinary herb now identified as chives”
Modern English
English
ciboulette
“A culinary loanword for chives, especially in botanical or gastronomic contexts”