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désir

Etymology and origin of the French word désir

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
c. 1170, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Chronique des ducs de Normandie
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēsīderō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.ziʁ/[1]

Forms

désir m (plural désirs)[1] Old French desir; the Académie long allowed desir beside désir.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from désirer.[3][4][5][6][1] The verb is from Latin dēsīderō (“to miss, long for”).[6] Littré stresses that “désir” does not continue Latin dēsīderium, which gave Old French “desirier” beside “desir”, Old French also had “desirance”.[2]

Compare Old Occitan dezir and Italian desire.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Chronique des ducs de Normandie (about 1170) uses it for a longing or wish; the GLLF dates it to Conon de Béthune at the end of the 12th century.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The courtly lyric of the 12th and 13th centuries used desir above all of love-longing (fol desir, the Châtelain de Coucy).[2] The sense of sensual appetite is in the Vidame de Chartres (before 1204).[5] In philosophy it names a tendency towards an object of which one is conscious.[5][7] Prendre ses désirs pour des réalités “to indulge in wishful thinking” and vos désirs sont des ordres are common phrases.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1170 – Desir, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[3]
  • late 12th century – Conon de Béthune.[5]
  • before 1204 – Sensual desire, Vidame de Chartres.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. desire, wish: exprimer un désir, selon vos désirs, prendre ses désirs pour des réalités.[7][1]
  2. Sexual desire.[5][7]
  3. (philosophy) A tendency towards an object present to the mind.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Désir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9sir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·