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assortiment

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Etymology and origin of the French word assortiment

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1480 More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin sors

Pronunciation

  • /a.sɔʁ.ti.mɑ̃/[1]

Forms

assortiment m (plural assortiments)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French assortir + -ment.[2][3][1][4] Assortir (about 1380) is derived from sorte,[4] itself borrowed from Latin sors (“lot, manner”);[4][5] its ending ⟨-ir⟩ is due to the family of sortir.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded about 1480, in a sense parallel to that of the verb, which until the 16th century often meant “to arrange, furnish”.[4] Littré quotes the 15th-century Vau de Vire of Basselin: Le bon vin et l'argent, C'est mon assortiment “Good wine and money, that's my outfit”.[6]

Semantic evolution

The noun names the action or manner of matching things together, and Montaigne uses it for the way things fit together.[7][6] Of people it once meant simply a union, as in Mme de Sévigné (1690).[7] The sense now most common goes back to the old use of assortir “to furnish, stock”: from 1620 it names a varied stock of goods of one kind, in connection with the adjective assorti.[7] It is also used in printing for the extra type needed for a special setting, and in bookselling, where livres d'assortiment are books a bookseller buys from other publishers.[6][8] In cooking it names a dish of several foods of one kind.[9][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1480 – First record.[4]
  • 1532 – Date of first attestation in the Petit Robert.[9]
  • 1620 – Used for a stock of goods of one kind.[7]
  • 1690 – Mme de Sévigné uses it for a union of persons.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The way things are matched or combined, an arrangement: un heureux assortiment de teintes.[9][10][6]
  2. (dated) A union of persons, a match.[9][7]
  3. A complete set of things that go together: un assortiment de pinceaux.[9][3][6]
  4. (commerce) A stock or range of goods of the same kind.[9][3][1]
  5. (cooking) A dish of various foods of the same sort: un assortiment de pâtisseries.[9][3][10]
  6. (printing) The extra type needed to complete a fount or for a special setting.[8][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b 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
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Assortiment.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/assortiment. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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