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admirer

Etymology and origin of the French word admirer

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1360, Froissart
Borrowed from
Latin admiror
Ultimate origin
Latin (miror)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin admiror
French admirer
Latin admirator

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ad.mi.ʁe/[1]

Forms

admirer[1] Amirer (1360), s'ammirer (1468); admirer is a relatinized spelling of the 16th century.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin admīror (“to wonder at, admire”), first adapted as “amirer”; the ⟨d⟩ was restored in the 16th century.[2][4][5][1] The Latin verb is formed from ad- (“to, at”) and mīror (“to wonder”) (see mirer).[2][6][7] The restored ⟨d⟩ was silent at first;[1][4] Féraud (1768) insists that it must be pronounced and calls “amiré” a mistake.[1][4]

Old French mostly said se merveiller, which “admirer” displaced.[5][7] Cognate with Italian ammirare, Spanish admirar, Portuguese admirar, Catalan admirar and Romanian admira.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Froissart uses amirer in 1360 for “to appreciate”, and s'ammirer (1468) meant “to be astonished”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Until the early 17th century the dominant sense was the Latin one, “to wonder at, look on with surprise”, as in Corneille (1644): j'admire cette antipathie qui vous l'a fait haïr avant que de le voir.[5][2][3] The modern sense, “to feel great esteem for”, appeared in 1566 and spread to things and acts, with moral and aesthetic shades.[2][8] An ironic use, finding something strange or blameworthy (j'admire votre confiance), continues the classical one.[2][3][8]

The derivatives admiration (about 1190, amiration), admirable (13th century, amirable) and admiratif (1370, Oresme) at first likewise meant “astonishment”, “astonishing”, “amazed”.[2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1190 – Amiration “astonishment”.[2]
  • 1360 – Amirer “to appreciate”, in Froissart.[2][3]
  • 1468 – S'ammirer “to be astonished”.[2]
  • 1542 – Admirateur.[2][5]
  • 1566 – “To hold in high esteem”.[2][8]
  • 1644 – “To look on with surprise”, in Corneille.[2]
  • 1768 – Féraud insists on pronouncing the ⟨d⟩.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To admire, look on with admiration; to hold in high esteem.[8][1]
  2. (ironic) To find (something) surprising or excessive: j'admire votre confiance, je vous admire de rester calme.[8][3]
  3. (archaic) To look on with astonishment, wonder at.[8][3]

Word family

  • admirable
  • admirateur
  • admiratif
  • admiration

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  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 d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Admirer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/admirer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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