Etymologically
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évaluer

Etymology and origin of the French word évaluer

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1366, esvaluer
Ultimate origin
Latin (valeō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French évaluer
English evaluate

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.va.lɥe/[1]

Forms

évaluer[1]

Etymology

It is from French é- + value + -er,[2][1] from value (“value, price”) (12th–17th century), the feminine past participle of valoir used as a noun.[3][4][5] It replaced the older avaluer (1283), formed with a- and used until the 17th century.[2][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as esvaluer in 1366, in the hospital archives of Béthune, meaning “to fix the value or price of something”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to determine the value or price” has stayed central.[3] By extension it came to mean “to fix approximately (a quantity, a distance)” and “to assess (a person's qualities or chances)” in the late 18th century (Chamfort),[3][4] and “to determine by calculation” (1870).[3] Littré remarked that évaluer was not found in the old texts, where avaluer was used.[7]

The noun évaluation dates from 1365, and the compounds réévaluer, sous-évaluer (1856) and surévaluer (1931) followed.[3]

Timeline

  • 1283 – The older avaluer in Beaumanoir.[2]
  • 1365 – The noun evaluacion.[3]
  • 1366 – Esvaluer in Béthune.[2]
  • 1660 – Last record of avaluer (Oudin).[2]
  • 1694 – Recorded by the Académie.[2]
  • 1870 – “To calculate (a quantity)”.[3][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To value or appraise: to judge the worth or price of something.[8][9]
  2. To estimate approximately: évaluer une distance à vue d'œil.[8][4]
  3. To determine (a quantity) by calculation rather than direct measurement.[8]
  4. To assess (risks, a level, a person).[4][2]

Word family

  • évaluation
  • évaluable
  • réévaluer
  • sous-évaluer
  • surévaluer
  • valoir
  • valeur
  • dévaluer
  • plus-value

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 133a
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Évaluer.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/%C3%A9valuer. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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