Paris for the Holidays

Louvre (Definition)

Posted on January 7, 2021 Updated on January 10, 2021

What does “Louvre” mean, and how was this name derived

Latin (“lupara”)
Could mean Wolf or Prostitute
“Because the first fortress of the Louvre was, when built, at the end of the city and just behind the surrounding wall it could be either a place where it was common to see wolfs or a gathering place for prostitutes” https://www.bluefox.travel/paris/blog/top-5-unknown-facts-about-the-louvre/
“at the turn of the seventeenth century, wolves roamed freely in the streets of the French capital” (1)

Saxon (“lower” or “lauern”)
Could mean Watch Tower https://www.bluefox.travel/paris/blog/top-5-unknown-facts-about-the-louvre/
A watch tower could have been built on the area where the Louvre is standing during the Normand invasions around the ninth or tenth century

French (“ouvrer”)
Could refer to the “gigantic” fortress built by Philippe-Auguste https://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-insolite/dou-vient-le-nom-du-louvre
The dungeon located along the Seine, later transformed into a royal residence, is a gigantic work, from the verb ouvrer. The work, or the work as they say today, would have given its name to the castle.