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désormais

Etymology and origin of the French word désormais

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1130–40, Chanson de Guillaume (des ore mais)
Ultimate origin
Latin (hōra,magis)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French dès
French désormais

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.zɔʁ.mɛ/[1]

Forms

désormais[1] Old French des ore mais, des ores mes, desoremais.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French dès + or (“now”) + mais (“more”): literally “from this hour onwards”.[2][4][5][3][6] Bloch and Wartburg see it as a strengthened form of Old French desor (“henceforth”) (11th–16th centuries).[7] The adverb or continues Latin hōra (“hour”), and mais Latin magis (“more”), a sense that the conjunction keeps only in n'en pouvoir mais.[3][7]

Compare Italian ormai (“by now”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Guillaume (1130–40) has des ore mais “from now on”.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it was still often written separately, as in the Roman de la Rose (Dès ores mès) and in Beaumanoir.[3] Chrétien de Troyes (about 1175) uses it in its two senses, “from the present moment on” and “from a given moment in the past on”.[5] Féraud (1787) criticized a pronunciation with a mute ⟨e⟩, desormais.[2]

Timeline

  • 1130–40 – Des ore mais, Chanson de Guillaume.[2]
  • c. 1175 – Both modern senses, Chrétien de Troyes.[5]
  • 1787 – Féraud criticizes the pronunciation with mute ⟨e⟩.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. From now on, henceforth: désormais je ne l'écouterai plus.[8][1]
  2. From then on (with reference to a moment in the past): ma vie s'organisa désormais.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 473b
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Désormais.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9sormais. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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