Etymology and origin of the French word désespoir
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Roman de Troie More words from the 12th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin spērō
Etymology tree
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /de.zɛs.pwaʁ/[1]
Forms
désespoir m (plural désespoirs)[1] Old French desespeir, then desespoir before 1203.[2][3]
Etymology
It is formed from French dés- + espoir.[4][5][6][7] The noun for hope belongs to the family of espérer, from Latin spērō (“to hope”).[6][8] Wiktionary traces it through desespoir.[1]
Cognate with Old Occitan desesper and Old Catalan desesper.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found about 1165 in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie, written desespeir, meaning the loss of hope.[4][2][6]
Semantic evolution
From the loss of a hope or of all hope, the word came to mean extreme and hopeless grief in the 16th century (Grévin, 1560),[4][6] and the plural désespoirs named fits of despair about the same time, in Jodelle.[4][6] Weakened, it was used about 1635, in Voiture, for a strong annoyance or regret,[4][6] and in 1694 the Académie records it for what causes discouragement.[4]
The phrase être au désespoir de “to be very sorry to” was in fashion in the 17th century.[6] En désespoir de cause was first a legal phrase, said when one had run out of arguments,[6][7] and passed into general use early in the 19th century; the Académie records it in 1835.[6][2]
Timeline
- c. 1165 – Desespeir in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie.[4][2]
- before 1203 – The form desespoir in the Châtelain de Coucy.[2]
- 1560 – Grévin uses it for affliction, grief.[4]
- c. 1560 – The plural for fits of despair, in Jodelle's Didon.[4]
- c. 1635 – Voiture uses it for annoyance, regret.[4]
- 1694 – The Académie records “what causes discouragement”.[4]
- 1835 – En désespoir de cause in the Académie's dictionary.[2][6]
Meanings
Noun
- The loss of hope, the state of someone who hopes for nothing more: despair.[3][4]
- Extreme, hopeless affliction: sombrer dans le désespoir; in the plural, fits of despair.[3][4]
- (by exaggeration) What causes great annoyance: ce chien fait le désespoir de ses voisins (that dog drives its neighbours to despair).[3]
- Être au désespoir: to be very sorry.[3][6]
- En désespoir de cause: as a last resort, without hope of success.[3][7]
- L'énergie du désespoir: the strength shown when all is lost.[3][2]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ 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
- ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 165b
Cite this entry
“Désespoir.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9sespoir. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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