Etymology and origin of the French word complicité
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1420 Complainte des bons François More words from the 15th century
- Ultimate origin
- Late Latin complex
Etymology tree
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /kɔ̃.pli.si.te/[1]
Forms
complicité f (plural complicités)[1]
Etymology
It is formed from French complice + -ité.[2][1][3] The noun complice (1320) is complex (“closely united”), which came to mean an accomplice.[3] Littré compares Italian complicità.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first recorded in 1420, in the Complainte des bons François, in the sense of taking part in a wrongful act.[2][5]
Semantic evolution
Beside participation in an offence, which is a precise notion in criminal law, the word took on, more often than complice, the favourable sense of a deep, unspoken understanding between two people.[5] The GLLF also records a figurative use for a set of favourable circumstances.[6] English took complicity from it in the 1650s.[7]
Timeline
- 1420 – Complicité appears in the Complainte des bons François.[2]
- 1650s – English borrows it as complicity.[7]
Meanings
Noun
- (law) Complicity: intentional help given to someone who commits an offence or crime: complicité de meurtre.[8][2]
- A secret or tacit understanding between people; connivance, bond.[8][2][1]
- (figurative) A combination of favourable circumstances.[6]
Related words
- complice
- English complicity
Usage notes
Agir de complicité, “to act in collusion”, is recorded by Littré; the Petit Robert has en complicité avec.[4][8]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e 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
- ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry
“Complicité.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/complicit%C3%A9. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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