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convenant

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Etymology and origin of the French word convenant

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1150 Lai du Cor More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin conveniō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin conveniō
Catalan convenir
French convenir
Romanian conveni
French convenant
Italian convenire
Romanian cuveni
Spanish convenir
English convene
From the same root
Latin convena ← conveniō
Latin conveniēns ← conveniō
Latin conventīcius ← conveniō
Latin conventiō ← conveniō
Latin conventum ← conveniō
Latin conventus ← conveniō

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ̃v.nɑ̃/[1]

Forms

convenant (feminine convenante, masculine plural convenants, feminine plural convenantes)[1] Noun: convenant m (plural convenants).[1][2] Old French covenant, convenant.[2][3]

Etymology

It is the present participle, used as an adjective and a noun, from French convenir (“to suit, to agree”).[4][5][6][2] The verb is from Latin conveniō (“to come together, to agree, to suit”).[7][3] Wiktionary takes the word straight from Old French covenant, from Latin conveniēns (“agreeing, suitable”).[1]

The legal noun of 1640 is, according to the TLFi and the DHLF, a borrowing of the English word covenant (“agreement, alliance”), recorded in 1638 for the Scottish religious league, which had itself been taken from the Old French noun.[2][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first recorded in the mid-12th century, in the Lai du Cor, meaning “agreement, convention”;[2][6][5] a 12th-century line quoted by Littré has par itel covenant, “on such terms”.[8] The adjective “suitable” appears about 1275 in Jean de Meun's part of the Roman de la Rose.[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French the noun meant an agreement, a promise or a condition, and also a person's intention or situation;[8][9][3] Villehardouin wrote that some mauvesement tindrent convenant (“kept faith badly”) with their lord.[8][9][3] It passed into English as covenant about 1300.[7]

The adjective lost ground to convenable.[6] The noun was brought back from English in 1640, and the form covenant is found in 1800 in Bonald; this sense too went out of use, except in bail à convenant, a lease of Brittany under which the landowner could dismiss the tenant on paying for his improvements (1845).[2][6] The opposite inconvenant (1790) became common, while convenant itself is now classical or literary.[6][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1150 – The noun “agreement” in the Lai du Cor.[2][6]
  • c. 1275 – The adjective “suitable” in Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose.[4][5]
  • c. 1300 – English covenant is borrowed from Old French.[7]
  • 1638 – English covenant names the Scottish religious league.[2]
  • 1640 – Saint-Amant uses convenant, taken from English.[2][6]
  • 1790 – Inconvenant appears.[6]
  • 1845 – Bail à convenant is recorded in Brittany.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (literary) suitable, appropriate.[2][5][8]
  2. In keeping with custom or what the situation requires, seemly; also impersonal, ce n'est pas convenant: Il ne serait pas convenant de partir avant le dessert.[2]

Noun

  1. (dated) An agreement, a convention.[2][5][1]
  2. (law, Brittany) Bail à convenant: a lease under which the owner may dismiss the tenant at will, repaying the improvements, also called bail à domaine congéable.[2][10]

Word family

  • inconvenant
  • convenancier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 c d Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Convenant.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/convenant. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·