Etymologically
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valiant

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈvæliənt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English valiaunt, also vailaunt,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman valiaunt and Old French vaillant,[6][4][3][7] the present participle, used as an adjective, of valoir (“to be worth”).[6][2][8] In Anglo-Norman and Old French it meant worthy, wealthy, influential and valuable from the late 11th century, courageous from about 1100, and physically strong from the first half of the 12th century.[6][9] The French verb is from Latin valeō (“to be strong, be well, be worth”),[3][6][10][8] whose present participle is valēns,[10][7] from Proto-Indo-European *wal- (“to be strong”).[3][10][8] The OED compares Old Occitan valen, Catalan valent, Spanish valiente (before 1207), Portuguese valente and Italian valente.[6] The English word is related to valour, value, valid, avail and prevail.[8][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OED's first record, before 1325 in the Statutes of the Realm, is in the sense "legally valid".[6] Barnhart's first record is the form vailaunt in Robert Mannyng's Handlyng Synne (about 1303), for physically strong, and the form valiant before 1338, in Mannyng's Chronicle.[2][6] Etymonline notes the word in surnames from the late 12th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word came into English with two groups of meanings, as in French: one of worth and value, the other of strength and courage.[6] The first group died out: "legally valid" lasted to 1632, mainly in Scots, "valuable, worthy" to 1623, "useful, effective" only in the late 15th century, and in Scots a person or goods could be "valiant" of a stated sum.[6] Physical strength was meant until the late 15th century,[6][5] and Sussex dialect kept the sense "stout, well-built" into the 19th century.[6][12][7] The main modern sense, brave in battle, is recorded from Gower's Confessio Amantis (before 1393),[6] and was applied to deeds from before 1450; it is now used especially of an effort or attempt.[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "stout; personally puissant; brave", quoting the First Book of Samuel.[13] As a noun, a valiant person, it appears from 1589,[5] and a verb meaning to embolden was tried in 1628.[6] In Wiltshire the wryneck was called the valiant sparrow.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1303 – the form vailaunt, physically strong (obsolete by 1481).[2][6]
  • before 1325 – legally valid (obsolete by 1632).[6]
  • before 1393 – of a person, brave, courageous.[6]
  • c. 1425 – valuable, worthy (obsolete by 1623).[6]
  • before 1450 – of a deed, showing bravery.[6]
  • 1589 – noun, a valiant person.[5] Etymonline dates the noun to about 1600.[3]
  • 1628 – verb, to embolden (obsolete).[6]
  • 1875 – Sussex dialect: stout, well-built.[6][12]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Brave and bold, especially in battle; courageous, intrepid.[14][5][6]
  2. Showing courage or determination: a valiant attempt to save the club.[14][5][6]
  3. (dialect) Stout, well-built.[6][7][12]
  4. (obsolete, 1303–1481) Physically strong; robust.[5][6]

Noun

  1. A valiant person.[5][3]

Word family

  • valiancy
  • valiantly
  • valiantness
  • overvaliant
  • unvaliant
  • pot-valiant
  • valiance

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c d Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins