Etymologically
Log in

départ

Etymology and origin of the French word départ

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1213, Faits des Romains
Ultimate origin
French (départir)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.paʁ/[1]

Forms

départ m (plural départs)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French départir, which in Old French meant “to go away, leave”.[2][3][4][5][6] Littré points out that “départ” properly meant a sharing out, the first sense of “départir”, and that Old French said “departie” for the act of leaving.[7] The noun of separation, as in “faire le départ”, comes from “départir” in the sense “to share out”, and the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give it a separate entry.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Faits des Romains (1213) use it for the act of leaving.[2][5] The sense “separation” is found in Gautier de Cambrai's Barlaam et Josaphat (1220–25).[2]

Semantic evolution

Être sur son départ is in Richelet (1680) and le point de départ in Dusaulx (1796); Flaubert has au départ (1845).[2] In 1793 Madame de Staël used it for leaving a post (votre départ du ministère), and in 1854 Delacroix for the start of an undertaking.[2] Railways gave the salle de départ (Zola, 1890), and sport the start of a race.[2][5]

In the 16th century the older sense of sorting and separating was still alive (Rabelais); in chemistry départ was the separation of gold from silver, and faire le départ de “to tell apart” is recorded by Boiste in 1819.[7][2]

Timeline

  • 1213 – The act of leaving, Faits des Romains.[2]
  • 1220–25 – A separation.[2]
  • 1680 – Être sur son départ, Richelet.[2]
  • 1793 – Leaving a post, Madame de Staël.[2]
  • 1796 – Le point de départ.[2]
  • 1819 – Faire le départ de.[2]
  • 1854 – A beginning, Delacroix.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. departure, the act or time of leaving: le départ du train, être sur le départ.[4][6]
  2. Leaving a post or organization: son départ à la retraite.[2][5]
  3. The start of a race: donner le départ, faux départ.[5]
  4. The beginning of something: au départ, point de départ.[5][2]
  5. (formal) Faire le départ entre: to distinguish clearly between.[4][6]

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 n o p q 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Départ.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9part. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·