Etymologically
Log in

corrélation

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word corrélation

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1412–1432 Règles de la Seconde Rhétorique More words from the 15th century
Borrowed from
Latin correlatio
Ultimate origin
Latin relātiō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin relātiō
English relation
French relation
Italian relazione
Old French relacioun
Romanian relație
Spanish relación
Latin correlātiō
French corrélation
English correlation
From the same root
English relational ← relation
English relationship ← relation
English correlate ← correlation

Pronunciation

  • /kɔ.ʁe.la.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

corrélation f (plural corrélations)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin correlātiō (“mutual relation”), a word found in Bede in the 8th century.[2][3][1] The Latin word is formed from cum (“with”) and relātiō (“relation”).[3][4] Bloch and Wartburg call its source scholastic Latin.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An isolated early record, correlacion in the Règles de la Seconde Rhétorique (1412–1432), is a rhetorical term for a matter copied out in quires or argued among clerks.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word was taken up again in 1718, when the Académie recorded it, after philosophical Latin, for a relation between two things or notions of which one logically calls for the other; it spread from philosophy into general use.[2][3] In grammar it has named the function of correlative terms since 1890.[2][3] In statistics and physics it is the measure of the mutual dependence of two variables or events.[6]

In the 20th century it gave the learned derivatives corrélat (1949, in Ricœur), corrélationnel (about 1950) and the verb corréler (1963), formed after English correlate in statistics.[3] The older adjective corrélatif (14th century) comes from Medieval Latin correlativus.[3][5]

Timeline

  • 1412–1432 – Correlacion appears as a rhetorical term in the Règles de la Seconde Rhétorique.[2][3]
  • 1718 – The Académie records the modern sense of a mutual logical relation.[2][3]
  • 1890 – The Dictionnaire général records the grammatical sense.[2][4]
  • 1949 – The back-formation corrélat appears in Ricœur.[3]
  • 1963 – The verb corréler is formed after English to correlate.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A relation between two things, notions or facts each of which implies the other; interdependence: une corrélation entre le prix et la demande.[2][6][4]
  2. (statistics, physics) The degree of mutual dependence of two variables, as in coefficient de corrélation.[6]
  3. (grammar) The function of correlative terms, and the relation they express.[4][2]

Usage notes

Être en corrélation and mettre en corrélation are the usual constructions.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Corrélation.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/corr%C3%A9lation. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·