Etymologically
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silhouette

Etymology and origin of the English word silhouette

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌsɪlʊˈɛt/ (UK); /ˌsɪluˈɛt/, /-lə-/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French silhouette, from the phrase à la silhouette,[2][3] after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), French minister of finance in 1759.[4][3][5] The usual explanation is that it mocked his petty economies, so that skimpy or austere fashions were dubbed à la Silhouette;[3] Merriam-Webster suggests instead that it refers to his brief tenure in office.[5] The surname is a Frenchified form of a Basque family name.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a portrait in black showing a profile, made by tracing the outline of a shadow and filling it in.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

From the cut-out portrait the word spread to any dark outline or shadow seen against a lighter background (by 1843),[3][6] and in fashion to the contour of a garment.[3][6] A verb formed from the noun appears in 1876.[3][6][5]

Timeline

  • 1766 – portrait à la silhouette.[3]
  • 1783 – silhouette, according to Merriam-Webster;[5] Etymonline dates the noun 1792[3] and the OED’s first quotation is 1798.[6]
  • 1819 – a brief verbal sketch of a person.[6]
  • 1832 – in silhouette, in outline.[6]
  • 1843 – any dark outline or shadow in profile.[3][6]
  • 1876 – verb.[3][6][5]
  • 1901 – the outline of a garment;[3] the OED’s first quotation for this sense is 1920.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An outline picture, especially of a profile, filled in with a solid dark colour.[4][5][2][1]
  2. A dark shape seen against a lighter background.[4][2]
  3. The outline or general shape of something.[5][2]

Verb

  1. To show as a silhouette, or outline against a background.[4][5][2][1]

Word family

  • silhouettist

References

  1. [1] [2] [3] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. [1] [2] [3] [4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“silhouette.” Etymologically, 6 October 2026, https://etymologically.com/en/silhouette. Accessed 6 October 2026.

Last edited on .