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éprouver

Etymology and origin of the French word éprouver

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (esprover)
Ultimate origin
Latin (probō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin probus
Latin probo
French preuve
French prouver
French éprouver
Latin probatio
Latin probator

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.pʁu.ve/[1]

Forms

éprouver[1] Old French esprover, esprouver (13th century); éprouver in Monet (1636).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French é- + prouver, with the intensive prefix “es-” from Latin ex-.[4][2][5][3][6] “Prouver” comes from Latin probō (“to test; to approve; to prove”), and itself meant “to put to the test” until the 16th century, especially in the participle.[7][1]

Compare Old Occitan esproar.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) the participle esprovet means “tested, proven”: de vasselage est esprovet “his valour has been proven”.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century it also meant to find out by personal experience (1155, Wace), with esprover que about 1175; in religion it was to tempt (13th century).[4][2] In 1273 it came to mean “to feel” (a desire, tenderness), and in the 13th century to make someone suffer trials.[2][3] Classical French used it with an adjective for “to find”, and, from 1718 it says of things that they suffer damage.[2] Its noun épreuve dates from about 1175.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Esprovet “proven”, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 1155 – “To find out”, Wace.[4]
  • 1273 – “To feel”.[2][3]
  • 1636 – The spelling éprouver, Monet.[3]
  • 1718 – To suffer damage.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To test, try out: éprouver la résistance d'un matériau; to put to the test: éprouver la fidélité d'un ami.[9][1]
  2. To feel, experience (a sensation or emotion): éprouver de la joie, une douleur.[2][1]
  3. To go through, undergo: éprouver des difficultés; to suffer (damage).[1][2]
  4. To afflict, make suffer: une région durement éprouvée.[2][3]
  5. Éprouvé: proven, tried: un courage éprouvé.[2]

Word family

  • épreuve
  • éprouvette
  • éprouvant

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 405a
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Éprouver.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9prouver. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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