berceau - Wiktionary, the free dictionary


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From Old French berçuel (diminutive of bers) from Vulgar Latin berciolum diminutive of *bertium, from Gaulish *berta, from Proto-Celtic *bertā, variant of *bereti (to carry).

Compare Old Irish bert (bundle). Cognate with Catalan bressol, Portuguese berço and Galician berce.

berceau m (plural berceaux)

  1. cradle, crib (bed for a baby)
  2. (figuratively) cradle, birthplace, place of origin
  3. (architecture) arch, vault