English word origin

Etymology of chic

Borrowed from French chic (“elegant”), which in turn is probably borrowed from German Schick (“elegant appearance; tasteful presentation”). The word is akin to Dutch schielijk (“hasty”), schikken (“to arrange”) and Old E

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Elegant, stylish.

noun

Good form; style. · A person with (a particular type of) chic.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Root classification mention*skek-ine-pro
Borrowed-form mentionchicfr
Cognate mentionSchickde · elegant appearance; tasteful presentation
Cognate mentionschielijknl
Cognate mentionsċēonang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "gmh",
        "4": "gmw-pro",
        "5": "gem-pro",
        "6": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*skek-"
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    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "chic",
        "4": "",
        "5": "elegant"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French chic (“elegant”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Schick",
        "t": "elegant appearance; tasteful presentation"
      },
      "expansion": "German Schick (“elegant appearance; tasteful presentation”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "schielijk",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hasty"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch schielijk (“hasty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "sċēon",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to happen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sċēon (“to happen”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chic",
      "chic#French"
    ],
    [
      "Schick",
      "Schick#German"
    ],
    [
      "schielijk",
      "schielijk#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "schikken",
      "schikken#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "sċēon",
      "sceon#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Elegant, stylish."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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        "Good form; style.",
        "A person with (a particular type of) chic."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "countable"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A kind of ritual buffoon or clown in Yucatec Maya culture.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Yucatec Maya chiʼik (“coati; buffoon”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionchiʼikyua · coati; buffoon

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "yua",
        "3": "chiʼik",
        "t": "coati; buffoon"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Yucatec Maya chiʼik (“coati; buffoon”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chiʼik",
      "chiʼik#Yucatec_Maya"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for chic →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2hpYw