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devoir

Etymology and origin of the French word devoir

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
842, Serments de Strasbourg
Inherited from
Latin debeo via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (dēbeō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin habeo
French avoir
Latin posthabeo
Latin antehabeo
Latin perhibeo
Latin habilis
Latin debeo
French devoir
Latin prohibeo
Latin diribeo

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /də.vwaʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /dvwaʁ/[1]

Forms

devoir[1] First recorded as dift “(he) must” (842); infinitive deveir (late 10th–11th century).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French deveir, inherited from Latin dēbeō (“to owe; ought, must”).[3][5][4][1] The Latin verb is a compound of dē and habeō (“to have”) (whence avoir): it meant “to have something from someone”, money or any other thing, and, with an infinitive, “to be obliged to”.[2][6] Its family includes dette, “débet” and débit.[7]

It survives everywhere except in Romanian: Italian dovere, Spanish deber and Old Occitan dever.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have dift “must”, marking obligation: si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dift “as one should rightly help one's brother”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

All the senses of the Latin verb are found in French: obligation and necessity (842), and its weakened uses marking the future (about 1050), probability, wish and intention (about 1100).[3][2] Devoir with a direct object, “to owe”, is found about 1155, and “to be indebted for something” before 1188.[3] In the Middle Ages it also meant “to claim” and “to deserve”.[2]

The infinitive became a noun, le devoir “duty”, at the end of the 12th century, expressing only moral obligation; the plural devoirs “respects” dates from 1636 (Corneille).[4][2][8] The past participle dû gave dûment (1310), and doit, the debit side of an account, is a bookkeeping term.[7]

Timeline

  • 842 – Dift in the Strasbourg Oaths.[3]
  • late 10th century – Deveir in the Passion de Clermont.[3]
  • c. 1050 – Marking the future.[3]
  • c. 1100 – Marking probability, wish and intention, in the Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • c. 1155 – “To owe”, in Wace.[3]
  • late 12th century – The noun devoir.[4]
  • 1636 – Devoirs “respects” in Corneille.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To owe: il me doit mille euros; to be indebted for: je lui dois la vie.[9][1]
  2. must, to have to: marks obligation: tu dois partir.[1][3]
  3. Must: marks probability: il doit être malade.[1][3]
  4. To be going to, to be due to: marks the future or an intention: il doit venir demain.[3][2]
  5. (conditional) Should, ought to: tu devrais le lui dire.[1]
  6. (literary) Dût-il: even if he had to.[1]

Noun

  1. duty, moral obligation: faire son devoir.[9][1]
  2. A school exercise, homework: faire ses devoirs.[1][8]
  3. (plural, dated) Respects: présenter ses devoirs.[2]

Word family

  • indu
  • indûment
  • dûment
  • dû

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 21a
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Devoir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/devoir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·