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émotion

Etymology and origin of the French word émotion

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1475, Chastellain
Borrowed from
Latin motio
Ultimate origin
Latin (ēmoveō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin motio
French émotion

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.mo.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

émotion f (plural émotions)[1] Written esmotion in the 16th century (1534); émotion from the 17th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is derived from émouvoir after Old and Middle French motion (“movement”), which was borrowed from Latin mōtiō (“movement; a shudder of fever”).[4][5][2] The verb goes back to Vulgar Latin *exmoveō, classical ēmoveō (“to move out, stir”), from ex and moveō (“to move”).[4][6] Littré derived it straight from a Latin noun formed on the supine of the verb; the TLFi and Rey make it a French formation.[7][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges Chastellain uses it before 1475 for a moral disturbance, a troubled state of mind.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

From the general sense “movement” came “disturbance, sedition” (1512, Jean Lemaire de Belges), the usual meaning in the classical period, especially for the beginning of a riot (Furetière, 1690): l'émotion commençait sur le quai, wrote Retz.[4][5][3] Montaigne used it in 1580, and the classical writers also used it for physical unease (Madame de Sévigné) and for the stirring of love (1645).[5][3] The modern sense, an affective state, pleasant or unpleasant, often with bodily signs, appears in 1641; today it is the only living one.[5][3] English borrowed emotion in the 1570s for a social agitation; the sense “strong feeling” followed in the 1650s.[8]

Timeline

  • Before 1475 – “Moral disturbance”, in Chastellain.[4]
  • 1512 – “Unrest, sedition”, in Jean Lemaire de Belges.[4]
  • 1534 – The spelling esmotion.[2][9]
  • 1570s – English borrows emotion.[8]
  • 1641 – The modern affective sense.[5]
  • 1690 – Furetière records the sense “beginning of a riot”.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sudden, short-lived disturbance caused by a strong feeling of fear, surprise or joy: parler avec émotion.[10][9]
  2. (psychology) An intense affective reaction, usually brought on by a stimulus and accompanied by bodily changes.[10][9]
  3. A feeling, pleasant or unpleasant, regarded from the affective side: cacher son émotion.[9]
  4. (history) Under the Ancien Régime, a brief, unorganized popular uprising.[10][3]
  5. (familiar) Donner des émotions: to give someone a fright.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Émotion.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9motion. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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