langue d'oïl

[ lahng daw-eel, daw-ee, doil ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

langue d'oïl

/ lɑ̃ɡ dɔj /

the group of medieval French dialects spoken in France north of the Loire; the medieval basis of modern French

1695–1705; < French: language of oïl ( Old French; compare French oui ), yes < Latin hōc ille ( fēcit ) this he (did)

literally: language of oïl (the northern form for yes ), ultimately from Latin hoc ille ( fecit ) this he (did)

Two languages, the langue d'oc and the langue d'oïl, gave birth to two separate species of poetry.

This, the langue d'oïl, became at length the French language.

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