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décor

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Etymology and origin of the French word décor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing, Back-formation
First attested
1536 Marot More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Latin decus
Ultimate origin
Latin decus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin decus
French décor
English decor
From the same root
Latin decorō ← decus
Latin dēdecus ← decus

Pronunciation

Forms

décor m (plural décors)[1] Written decore until the 17th century;[2][3] décors and décor appear in the theatre sense in 1833 and 1837.[2][3]

Etymology

In its first sense, “what is fitting, seemliness” (1536, spelled decore), it is borrowed from Latin decus (“what is fitting, seemly”).[3][2][4] Wiktionary gives the source as decor.[1] In its modern sense “what serves to adorn” it is a back-formation from French décorer.[3][4][5][6] The verb was borrowed about 1350 from decorō (“to adorn, to honour”), formed on the same noun.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Clément Marot uses decore in 1536 for what is fitting or becoming, saying of Renée de France C'est son decore.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The abstract sense “propriety” lasted until the 18th century; the Trévoux dictionary marks it as old in 1771.[3][2] The sense “what serves to adorn”, owed to décorer, appears in 1603 but stays rare until 1788, when Mercier uses it of the decoration of a building or interior.[2][3] It spread in the 19th century: Balzac uses it for the art of decoration (1831), and it became a theatre word for the painted scenery of the stage (1826).[2][3]

From the stage came the figurative sense “deceptive appearance” (1857, Baudelaire).[2][3] Used of a natural setting or landscape (1842), it gave the familiar rentrer dans le décor “to run off the road”, recorded in cycling in 1918–1919.[2][3] With no idea of ornament, it also names the surroundings in which a person lives (1857, Flaubert).[2][3] English took it in 1897 for stage scenery and furnishings.[8]

Timeline

  • 1536 – Marot uses decore for seemliness.[3][7]
  • 1603 – Decore means what serves to adorn, in an isolated example.[3][2]
  • 1771 – The Trévoux dictionary marks the sense “seemliness” as old.[3]
  • 1788 – Mercier uses décor for the decoration of a building.[3][4]
  • 1826 – First recorded as a theatre term, still spelled décore.[3][2]
  • 1831 – Balzac uses it for the art of decoration.[3][2]
  • 1842 – Banville applies it to a landscape.[3]
  • 1857 – Baudelaire uses it for a deceptive appearance, and Flaubert for a person's surroundings.[3][2]
  • 1897 – English borrows decor.[8]
  • 1918 – Rentrer dans le décor “to leave the road” is recorded.[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. What serves to decorate a building or interior, its decoration, also a pattern or design: papier peint à décor floral.[9][10]
  2. The art and techniques of interior decoration.[6]
  3. (theatre, cinema) The set or scenery representing the place of the action.[9][6] Changement de décor: a sudden change of circumstances, l'envers du décor: the hidden side of things.[9][1][10]
  4. The outward setting or surroundings in which something happens or someone lives: un décor de forêts.[9][3]
  5. (familiar) Aller, partir dans le décor: to leave the road by accident.[9][2]

Usage notes

Planter le décor (to set the scene) and faire partie du décor (to go unnoticed, to play a minor role) are common phrases.[9][1]

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 n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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
  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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Décor.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9cor. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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