- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 980, Passion de Clermont (en porter)
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (portō)
Etymology tree
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɑ̃.pɔʁ.te/[1]
Forms
emporter[1] En porter (about 980), enporter (Chanson de Roland), emporter from the 12th–13th century.[2][3][4]
Etymology
It is from French en- + porter, where “en” is the adverb of place from Latin inde (“from there”): to carry away from a place.[3][5][6][4][7][1] The verb porter is portō, which belonged to the popular language, where the literary word was ferō.[8]
Compare Old Occitan emportar.[9]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Passion of Clermont (about 980) has el l'en portet “he carries him away from there”, to take with one from one place to another.[4][2] The Chanson de Roland has n'enportera la teste “he will not get away with his head”.[9]
Semantic evolution
About 1260 it meant “to win, gain” (le pris en enporta), a sense later taken by remporter, l'emporter “to prevail” is found in 1350.[4][3] From 1310 it meant to carry off by force, from 1500 to take by storm, and in Calvin (1541) to entail, a sense common in the classical period and now dated.[4][3] Emporter la pièce (early 17th century) first meant to win an argument, emporter le morceau now means to succeed.[3] In the 17th century the verb meant to carry away with excitement, whence s'emporter (Corneille, 1632), to lose one's temper.[3][4] Que le diable l'emporte ! was a common curse in the classical period, and plat à emporter (takeaway) is 20th-century, Swiss French says à l'emporter.[3]
Timeline
- c. 980 – En porter, Passion.[4]
- c. 1260 – To win, Auberon.[4]
- 1310 – To carry off by force.[4]
- 1350 – L'emporter, Gilles le Muisit.[4]
- 1500 – To take by storm, Jean d'Auton.[4]
- 1632 – S'emporter, Corneille.[4]
- 20th century – Plat à emporter.[3]
Meanings
Verb
- To take away, take with one: emporter un parapluie, plat à emporter, takeaway food.[6][1]
- To carry off, sweep away: le vent a emporté son chapeau, la maladie l'a emporté.[1][6]
- To take by force: emporter une position.[4][2]
- To carry away (of emotion): emporté par la colère.[2][6]
- L'emporter: to prevail, win: l'emporter sur qqn.[1][6]
- S'emporter: to lose one's temper, flare up.[1][4]
- Vous ne l'emporterez pas en paradis: you will not get away with it.[6][9]
Word family
- emportement
- emporte-pièce
- emporté
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
- ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 215b
- ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry
“Emporter.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/emporter. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
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