Etymologically
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anglais

Etymology and origin of the French word anglais

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
12th century (engleis, angleis)
Ultimate origin
Late Latin (Anglī)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Belgium, France): /ɑ̃.ɡlɛ/[1]
  • IPA: /ɑ̃.ɡle/[1]
  • IPA (Canada): /ã.ɡlɛ/[1]

Forms

anglais (feminine anglaise, masculine plural anglais, feminine plural anglaises)[1] Old French engleis, angleis, anglois, Anglo-Norman also engleis, englois.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Old French Angle (“Angle”), the name of the Germanic people who settled in Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, with the suffix “-eis” (modern -ais).[3][5][1][6] The name comes from Late Latin Anglī (singular “Anglus”).[3][2] Rey traces it to a Germanic place name, Angeln, in the east of Schleswig, perhaps named after the shape of the district.[3]

The modern form follows the change of “-ois” to “-ais”, “anglois” is still listed as an older spelling.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 12th century as engleis or angleis, of England and its people.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

It applied to England and, by extension, to Great Britain, and l'anglais names the language wherever it is spoken.[3] In the 16th century anglois could also mean a creditor.[7] In Canada les Anglais are the English-speaking Canadians.[3] L'anglaise names a sloping handwriting (1788) and, in the plural, long ringlets (1829); filer à l'anglaise “to leave without saying goodbye” is from the 19th century.[5][3] Many phrases use the adjective, such as capote anglaise, clé anglaise and pommes à l'anglaise.[3][8] Franglais (1953, from français and anglais) was popularised by Étiemble.[3]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Engleis, angleis.[2][5]
  • 16th century – Anglois “creditor”, in Marot.[7]
  • 1788 – Anglaise, a handwriting, anglaiser a horse.[5][3]
  • 1829 – Anglaises, ringlets.[5]
  • 1890 – Filer à l'anglaise.[3]
  • 1953 – Franglais.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. English: of England and, loosely, of Britain: la monarchie anglaise, le Canada anglais.[8][9]
  2. À l'anglaise: in the English way: jardin à l'anglaise, pommes de terre à l'anglaise, steamed, filer à l'anglaise, to slip away unnoticed.[8][10]

Noun

  1. L'anglais: the English language.[8][11]
  2. Un Anglais, une Anglaise: an Englishman, an Englishwoman.[10][9]
  3. Anglaise: a sloping cursive handwriting, anglaises, long ringlets.[5][3]

Word family

  • anglaiser
  • franglais
  • Angleterre
  • anglicisme
  • anglo-saxon
  • anglophone

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 87b
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Anglais.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/anglais. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·