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détachement

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Etymology and origin of the French word détachement

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1606 Crespin More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
French détacher,-ment
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French détacher
English detach
Spanish destacar
French détachement
English detachment
From the same root
English detachable ← detach

Pronunciation

  • /de.taʃ.mɑ̃/[1]

Forms

détachement m (plural détachements)[1] Early form destachement (1606).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French détacher1 + -ment, first recorded in 1606.[4][5][1] Bloch and Wartburg date it 1613, and the GLLF 1617.[6][7] Détacher is formed from Old French tache (“clasp”), as attacher is.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Crespin records destachement in 1606 for the act of separating one thing from another, and the state of what comes loose.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century, following the new sense of the verb, it took a figurative, moral sense: Corneille's Imitation (1651–1652) uses it for the state of a soul freed from worldly attachments,[4][2] a sense Littré still lists as a mystical term.[8] At the same time it became a military term: Retz writes of un détachement de mille chevaux (before 1679), and Pomey (1676) has it for a body of soldiers sent off from the main force.[4][2] In the 20th century it became the word for the posting of a soldier or a civil servant away from their usual unit or corps.[2][7] Today the commonest sense is indifference or lack of involvement.[3][9]

Timeline

  • 1606 – Destachement is recorded by Crespin.[4][2]
  • 1651–1652 – Corneille uses it for the soul's detachment from the world.[4][2]
  • 1676 – Pomey records the sense “body of detached soldiers”.[4]
  • 20th century – Used of a civil servant serving outside his corps.[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. indifference, lack of interest or involvement: elle parlait de son échec avec détachement.[3][9][10]
  2. (dated or literary) Freedom from a passion, interest or attachment: le détachement du monde.[3][8]
  3. (military) A small body of troops detached from the main force for a special task.[3][8]
  4. (administration) The temporary posting of a civil servant or soldier outside their original corps.[9][7]
  5. (rare) The act of separating something from what it is joined to.[4][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Détachement.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9tachement. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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