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discrédit

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Etymology and origin of the French word discrédit

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1719 Arrêt du Conseil d'État More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origin
French discréditer

Pronunciation

  • /dis.kʁe.di/[1]

Forms

discrédit m (plural discrédits)[1]

Etymology

The TLFi and Rey take it as a deverbal noun from French discréditer, modelled on crédit.[2][3][1][4] Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF instead derive it from the noun, probably under the influence of Italian discredito, from credito.[5][6][7] Littré analyses it as the prefix dis- and the noun.[8]

The verb is older (1572); it was preceded by the short-lived Middle French désaccréditer (1553), taken from Spanish desacreditar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1719, in a decree of the Conseil d'État, as a banking term for the fall in the credit enjoyed by a security or currency.[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The financial sense, the loss of value of a currency or of paper money, is now dated;[2][4][3] Las Cases wrote in 1823 of the discrédit of the finances and the paper money.[2][4][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that the word soon took a wider sense,[5] and the usual meaning today is the loss of the trust, esteem or influence that a person or thing enjoyed,[3][2][4] as in tomber en discrédit and jeter le discrédit sur quelqu'un.[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1572 – The verb discréditer.[3][5]
  • 1719 – Discrédit as a banking term, in a decree of the Conseil d'État.[2][5]
  • 1823 – Las Cases writes of the discrédit of paper money.[2]
  • 1885 – Renan writes of gods who tombent en discrédit when no longer feared.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated) A fall or loss in the credit or value of a security or currency: le discrédit d'une monnaie.[4][2][7]
  2. Loss of the trust, esteem or influence that a person or idea enjoyed; disrepute: tomber dans le discrédit, jeter le discrédit sur qqn.[4][2][1]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Discrédit.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/discr%C3%A9dit. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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