La Dombes or Les Dombes?

Do we say La Dombes or Les Dombes?
Why is Dombes spelled with an S?
If we say La Dombes, then why Villars-LES-Dombes?
What does Dombes mean?

Here are the answers to all your questions!

La Dombes or Les Dombes

This question has divided the French for decades.
Imagine a situation almost as divisive as the Dreyfus affair: family dinners that end in arguments, couples who break up and childhood friends who no longer speak to each other.

Do we say LA DOMBES or LES DOMBES?

Supporters of the plural form (Les Dombes) rely on three arguments: the “s” at the end of the “Dombes”, which is generally an indicator of the plural, the name of the town of Villars-les-Dombes, and the name of several establishments that bear the name “des Dombes” (also a plural form, as in “Le Fumet des Dombes”). Advocates of the singular form also point to the names of towns, like Saint-Marcel-en-Dombes (singular), the names of other regions that mostly takek the singular, like Bresse or Bugey, and finally the fact that the French administration designates this region in the singular.

The administration often has the last word!

So yes, we say LA Dombes.

Why Villars-LES-Dombes?

If we say La Dombes, then why do we say Villars-Les-Dombes?

The “les” in Villars-les-Dombes is not a plural article but a preposition meaning “near“.

Generally it is written “lès” (with an accent). It’s because of this confusion that many people use the plural form “Les Dombes” and many restaurants and businesses are called “x des Dombes”.

The “lès” is found in the names of several towns and villages, such as Saint Denis lès Bourg (meaning “Saint Denis near Bourg”).

Why is Dombes spelled with an S?

The S at the end of the word makes it sound like a plural, but in fact it’s a remnant of the Latin word “Pagus Dombesis”, the land of Dombes.

The origin of the word Dombes

While it’s fairly easy to answer the question of singular or plural, this isn’t the case for the origin of the name. Several hypotheses have been put forward, some more plausible than others.

The Latin origin seems the most relevant. The word Dombes is allegedly a term derived from the word “dominus” meaning lord, to indicate that this was the property of a mere lord and not that of a count, duke or other noble. The term could also refer to geographical location: “dominum bassum”, meaning low (or flat) seigneury, as opposed to neighboring, more mountainous regions like Bugey and Beaujolais. Others see a connection with the term “dumus”, coppice, hence a region covered in woodland.

Other possible but less likely explanations lie in origins from other languages such as Celtic, Germanic or Slavic. We can make a connection, for example, with the German term Tümpel, which means pond.

There are other explanations too, but they have no historical basis. The origin of Dumba could be the name of a lady who owned the land, the name of a castle, or even the name of a people who inhabited the region and then fell into oblivion…

To sum up

We say La Dombes in the singular and this is the spelling used.

The origin of the name remains obscure, so feel free to choose your preferred explanation. That way, you’ll have the last word if, once again, your family meal turns into a squabble over the name Dombes.

Opinion of the Académie de la Dombes

“When first transcribed, Dombes appeared in the singular; the plural came later. This is how the ambiguity arose about whether should we say la Dombes or les Dombes. Both forms were used until the 19th century, when Councillor Mantelier, asked by the Bishop of Belley to name the Plantay Abbey, wrote a letter in which he analyzed the appropriateness of using the plural versus the singular. He concluded with the use of the plural. This is how the Cistercian abbey came to be known as “Notre Dame des Dombes”.

Today, usage has retained the designation “La Dombes”, with which historians and fans of the region comply without difficulty. When referring to the Dombes as an entity, the singular form prevails. Indeed, there is only one Dombes, just as there is only one Bugey or one Bresse, both close neighbors! Its soil is unique! The cultivation of its soil is unique! Its history is unique! Just like its habits and customs.”

Georges FAFOURNOUX, Academie de la Dombes