Etymologically
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dimanche

Etymology and origin of the French word dimanche

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1131, Couronnement de Louis (dïenenche)
Inherited from
Latin dies dominicus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (diēs,dominus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /di.mɑ̃ʃ/[1]

Forms

dimanche m (plural dimanches)[1] Old French dïenenche (about 1131), diemenche, diemaine, dymanche in the early 14th century (Joinville).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French diemenche, inherited from Ecclesiastical Latin diēs dominicus (“the Lord's day”), which became “*didominicu” and then, by dissimilation of consonants, “*diominicu”.[2][3][5][4][6] It is formed from Latin diēs (“day”) and dominicus (“of the lord”), from dominus (“master, lord”).[3] Bloch and Wartburg note that the Christian phrase is attested at the end of the 2nd century.[5]

“Dies dominicus” replaced the pagan “dies solis” “day of the sun”, which Roman Gaul passed on to neighbouring languages: Breton disul, English Sunday and German Sonntag.[3][5] It also drove out the Old French diemeine, formed with the adjective “demaine” “of the lord” (Philippe de Thaon, about 1119).[2][3] Compare Italian domenica, Spanish domingo, Catalan diumenge and Occitan dimenge.[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Couronnement de Louis (about 1131) has dïenenche for Sunday.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word is usually masculine, like Spanish domingo, but was feminine in some regions, like Italian domenica, as Latin dies itself varied in gender.[5][7] Les habits du dimanche “Sunday best” is in Furetière (1690), and du dimanche came to mean “amateur”, as in peintre du dimanche.[2][3] C'est pas tous les jours dimanche “life isn't always a holiday” is recorded from 1753.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1119 – Dïemeine, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • c. 1131 – Dïenenche, Couronnement de Louis.[2]
  • early 14th century – Dymanche, Joinville.[2]
  • 1572 – The derivative endimancher.[3]
  • 1690 – Les habits du dimanche, Furetière.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sunday: dimanche prochain, le dimanche, la messe du dimanche.[9][1]
  2. Du dimanche: Sunday (clothes); amateur: peintre du dimanche, conducteur du dimanche.[3][2]

Word family

  • endimanché

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 129a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dimanche.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/dimanche. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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