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cohérent

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Etymology and origin of the French word cohérent

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1539 Jean Canappe, sixth book of the Thérapeutique More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Latin cohaerens
Ultimate origin
Latin haereō
Derivations
From the same root
English incoherent ← cohérent

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.e.ʁɑ̃/[1]

Forms

cohérent (feminine cohérente, masculine plural cohérents, feminine plural cohérentes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cohaerēns, the present participle of cohaereō (“to cling together, to be coherent”), used both literally and figuratively.[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb is formed from cum (“with, together”) and haereō (“to stick, to be fixed”), the verb also behind adhérer and hésiter.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Canappe used it in 1539, in an anatomical context, for something attached to something else; this use is found only in his writings.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word was taken up again with its abstract sense, which is now the usual one: the Académie recorded raisonnement cohérent “coherent reasoning” in 1798.[2][3] The concrete sense survived only in the sciences: in physics, of a mass whose parts hold closely together, in geology (1858) and in optics, of light waves with a constant phase difference, as in a laser beam.[3][2][7]

The noun cohérence, borrowed from Latin, is recorded earlier, in 1524, and has followed the same development; the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give 1524 for the adjective as well.[3][4][8][7] The negative incohérent dates from 1751 and incohérence from 1729 (Bloch–Wartburg) or 1775 (DHLF).[4][3]

Timeline

  • 1539 – Jean Canappe uses cohérent in anatomy.[2][3]
  • 1751 – Incohérent appears.[4][3]
  • 1798 – The Académie records raisonnement cohérent.[2][3]
  • 1858 – Used in physics and geology.[3][7]
  • 1897 – The verb cohérer is derived from it.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Made of parts that are compatible and logically linked, consistent: un programme cohérent, des idées cohérentes.[7][9]
  2. (dated, physics) Whose parts hold closely together, compact.[2][9][6]
  3. (physics) Having a constant phase difference over time: lumière cohérente.[7][2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b 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 c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 849a
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cohérent.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/coh%C3%A9rent. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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