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blessé

Etymology and origin of the French word blessé

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1155
Ultimate origin
Frankish (*blettjan)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French blesser
French blessé

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /blɛ.se/[1]
  • IPA: /ble.se/[1]

Forms

blessé (feminine blessée, masculine plural blessés, feminine plural blessées)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle, used as an adjective and a noun, from French blesser (“to wound”).[2][3][4] The verb, first written blecier and blecer, comes through a Gallo-Romance *blettio (“to bruise”) from Frankish *blettjan, formed on a noun matching Old High German bleizza (“bruise, scar of a wound”).[4][5][6] Its original sense “to bruise” survives in dialects and in blet “overripe”; the sense “to wound” replaced the older navrer.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective is recorded about 1155, for someone who has received a wound.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a wounded person, dates from the 16th century, and is common in the plural for the victims of a war or an accident (un mort et trois blessés).[7][3] The figurative sense, hurt in one's feelings, follows that of the verb, which had meant “to pain, offend” since 1176: blessé dans son amour-propre, un cœur blessé.[3][4][8] Littré still recorded avoir le cerveau blessé, not to be in one's right mind.[8] Un grand blessé is a seriously wounded person, and un blessé léger or grave qualifies the wound rather than the person, a use the Petit Robert calls criticized.[3][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1155 – The adjective blessé.[4][2]
  • 16th century – The noun, a wounded person.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Wounded, injured: soldats blessés, blessé au bras.[7][5]
  2. (figurative) Hurt, offended: blessé dans son orgueil.[7][3]

Noun

  1. A wounded or injured person: les blessés de guerre, un grand blessé.[7][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c 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
  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 e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

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

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