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arrivé

Etymology and origin of the French word arrivé

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
Ultimate origin
Latin (rīpa)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.ʁi.ve/[1]

Forms

arrivé (feminine arrivée, masculine plural arrivés, feminine plural arrivées)[2][3]

Etymology

It is the past participle of arriver, used as an adjective and a noun.[3][4][2] The verb comes from Vulgar Latin *arrīpō (“to reach the shore”), formed from ad- (“to”) and rīpa (“riverbank, shore”), the source of rive.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first a sailors' word meaning to come to the shore (mid-11th century), and by the 16th century this origin was no longer felt outside navigation.[5][6] The participle shares its general sense, “having reached a place”, and was said of an event that has happened.[2][7] As an adjective and a noun it also means someone who has succeeded, as in Huysmans's les hommes les plus arrivés (1883) and Zola's femme arrivée.[2][8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Who has reached a destination; present.[2][7]
  2. Who has succeeded socially or professionally: un homme arrivé.[4][8]
  3. Of an event, that has happened.[2][7]

Noun

  1. A person who has arrived: premier arrivé, dernier arrivé, les nouveaux arrivés.[4][2]
  2. A person who has succeeded in life, beside the arriviste.[2]

Usage notes

Croire que c'est arrivé, to take something too seriously or think too highly of oneself, is found in 1860, earlier than the 1866 date in the dictionaries.[9]

References

  1. ^ 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
Cite this entry

“Arrivé.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/arriv%C3%A9. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·