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désigner

Etymology and origin of the French word désigner

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1377, Oresme
Borrowed from
Latin designo
Ultimate origin
Latin (signum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin signo
Latin designo
English design
English designer
French désigner

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.zi.ɲe/[1]

Forms

désigner[1] Desiner, desinner (13th–14th century), rare before the 16th century, Littré notes that ⟨s⟩ was still unvoiced in 1703.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēsignō (“to mark out; to point out; to appoint”),[5][6][7][8] formed with dē- on signō (“to mark with a sign”), from signum (“sign”).[6][2] The Latin verb also meant “to represent, draw”, the source of the doublet dessiner.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A text of about 1265 has les jours desinez de l'Eglise, the days appointed by the Church;[9][3] Oresme (1377) has chose designee par nombre, “determined by a distinctive mark”.[5][9]

Semantic evolution

Lemaire de Belges (1511) and Rabelais (1534, 1539) use it for “to represent, symbolise”, as when Rabelais tells what each colour designe.[9][5][4] In the 16th century it was also used for “to plan, draw out” (Amyot, Palissy, d'Aubigné), senses that went to dessiner.[4] The sense “to appoint (someone) to an office” is recorded by Furetière in 1690,[5][6] and désigner qqn à la haine publique “to hold someone up to” appears in La Bruyère.[5][3]

In linguistics désignation is the relation between a sign and the thing it refers to.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1265 – Jours desinez.[9]
  • 1355 – Desinacion.[6]
  • 1377 – Designee par nombre in Oresme.[5]
  • 1539 – “To symbolise” in Rabelais.[5]
  • 1690 – “To appoint”, in Furetière.[5]
  • Before 1696 – “To single out” in La Bruyère.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To point out, indicate: désigner du doigt.[3][10]
  2. To designate, denote; to name or refer to: ce mot désigne une plante.[3][1]
  3. To appoint, choose (someone for a task or office): désigner un successeur.[3][4]
  4. Désigner qqn à: to single out (for attention, blame): désigner qqn à la vindicte publique.[3]

Word family

  • désignation
  • dessiner
  • signe
  • signer
  • Latin dēsignō
  • English designate

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 53b
  9. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Désigner.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9signer. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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