*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bijou

Borrowed from French bijou.

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 ↗
noun

A jewel. · A piece of jewelry; a trinket. · A small intricate piece of metalwork.

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

Borrowed from French bijou.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:bijou",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"bijou\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bijou\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bijou\">\nBorrowed from French bijou."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:bijou",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French bijou."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bijou",
      "bijou#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A jewel.",
        "A piece of jewelry; a trinket.",
        "A small intricate piece of metalwork."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "ba2b746b2f6a4846ac53d47361cc0c577fe18e436555a5723b49398bb0bf2e55",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 431269
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Small; little. · Small and elegant. · Intricate; finely made.

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

Borrowed from Sabir bijou, ultimately from Occitan pichon (“small, little”), influenced by English bijou (“jewel”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pml",
        "3": "bijou"
      },
      "expansion": "Sabir bijou"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "oc",
        "3": "pichon",
        "4": "",
        "5": "small, little"
      },
      "expansion": "Occitan pichon (“small, little”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bijou",
        "3": "",
        "4": "jewel"
      },
      "expansion": "English bijou (“jewel”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bijou",
      "bijou#Sabir"
    ],
    [
      "pichon",
      "pichon#Occitan"
    ],
    [
      "bijou",
      "bijou#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Small; little.",
        "Small and elegant.",
        "Intricate; finely made."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Polari"
      ],
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    }
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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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 bijou →

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-Ymlqb3U