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commande

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Etymology and origin of the French word commande

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1213 Faits des Romains More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mandō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French commander
Romanian comanda
Spanish comandar
French commande
From the same root
French commandant ← commander
French commandement ← commander
Spanish comandante ← comandar
Spanish comando ← comandar

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.mɑ̃d/[1]

Forms

commande f (plural commandes)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French commander (“to order”).[2][3][4] The verb comes from Vulgar Latin *commandō, a refashioning of Latin commendō (“to entrust, to commit”), itself formed from com- and mandō (“to entrust, to charge”), after the simple verb.[5]

The feminine noun (1213) drove out an older masculine doublet, command (1050), which survived for a time as a legal term (1262).[5] Compare Old Occitan comanda.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1213, in the Faits des Romains, meaning “safekeeping, custody” or “something left in someone's care”, a sense that goes back to the old meaning “to entrust” of the verb.[2][4][5] The Roman de la Rose (13th century) says of a man who has another's heart en sa commande, “in his keeping”.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French the word meant a thing entrusted to someone, a deposit; this sense lasted into the 16th century and was kept in commercial law.[2][5] Beaumanoir and Joinville (13th century) use commande of goods left in someone's keeping.[6]

In 1680 Richelet records the commercial sense, an order given to a craftsman or merchant to supply goods, in step with the new commercial sense of the verb commander “to order goods” (1675).[2][5] The phrase de commande (1671, La Fontaine) first meant “prescribed, obligatory” and now means “feigned, put on”, as in a smile that is not sincere;[2][5][7] sur commande means “on request, to order”.[2][5][7]

A technical line of senses started at sea: at the end of the 15th century (1494) commande was a rope that held a boat to its anchor or a post.[2][4] From 1861 it named the mechanism that sets a machine going or regulates it, and later the controls of a vehicle or aircraft, as in être aux commandes and prendre les commandes.[2][7][8] In computing it is an instruction given to a computer.[8]

Timeline

  • 1213 – Commande “custody, deposit” appears in the Faits des Romains.[2][3]
  • 1494 – It names a rope mooring a boat.[2]
  • 1625 – Stœr's dictionary has the commercial sense “order for goods”.[4][7]
  • 1671 – La Fontaine uses de commande “prescribed”.[2][5]
  • 1680 – Richelet records the sense “order given to a craftsman or merchant”.[2]
  • 1861 – Armengaud uses it for the controlling mechanism of a steam engine.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An order for goods or a service to be supplied within a set time: passer une commande chez le libraire.[7][8]
  2. The goods or work ordered: Nous attendons encore notre commande.[7]
  3. Sur commande: made to order, or on request: un gâteau fait sur commande.[7][8]
  4. De commande: feigned, not sincere; formerly, obligatory: une gaieté de commande.[7][6]
  5. (nautical) A mooring rope or line.[7][6]
  6. (technology) A device that starts, stops or regulates a mechanism, a control; in the plural, the controls of a vehicle or aircraft: être aux commandes, prendre les commandes.[7][8]
  7. (technology) The action of setting off or adjusting a mechanism: commande à distance.[7][8]
  8. (computing) An instruction given to a computer.[8]

Usage notes

Commande must not be confused with its homophone commende.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Commande.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/commande. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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