Etymologically
Log in

évidemment

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 12:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.vi.da.mɑ̃/[1]

Forms

évidemment[1] Evidanment in the 13th century, evidemment in Juvénal des Ursins (early 15th century).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French évident + -ment, with haplology.[4][5][2][1] évident is borrowed from Latin ēvidēns (“clear, manifest”), a compound of ex- and videō (“to see”).[4][6]

Compare Old Occitan evidenmen.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi dates it to the 13th century, in the Légende de Girart de Roussillon; a 13th-century Lai d'amours has Je le connois evidanment, “I know it clearly”.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is “in an evident way, manifestly”, still in Descartes's que je ne la connusse évidemment être telle, but now old or literary.[7][2] From the early 19th century (Arago) it means “to all appearances”, and, from 1865 (Littré) it is used at the head of a sentence to reinforce an assertion, “of course”, today its usual sense.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Evidanment, Lai d'amours.[3][4]
  • Early 15th century – The spelling evidemment, Juvénal des Ursins.[2]
  • Early 19th century – “Apparently”, Arago.[2]
  • 1865 – Affirmative “of course”.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. of course, obviously, naturally: Vous venez ? — Évidemment ![7][1]
  2. Apparently, to all appearances.[2]
  3. (old or literary) Clearly, evidently, beyond doubt.[7][2]
  • évident
  • évidence

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert