Etymologically
Log in

entourage

Etymology and origin of the French word entourage

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1461
Ultimate origin
French (entourer,-age)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French entourage
English entourage

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃.tu.ʁaʒ/[1]

Forms

entourage m (plural entourages)[1]

Etymology

It is from French entourer + -age.[2][3][1] Entourer (1538, Robert Estienne) is derived from entour “surroundings”,[2] which is formed from en and tour “circuit”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An isolated record of 1461, in documents on Commynes, already has the sense “the people who surround someone”; the word reappears in 1776 in a letter of Beaumarchais.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “what surrounds a thing” is recorded from 1779 according to Féraud and in Mme de Genlis in 1780, but a text of 1745 already uses entourage for the log walls of a hut.[5][2][6] Today the word is used both for the circle of people who live in someone's familiarity, as in l'entourage du Président, and for an ornamental border around an object.[7][8]

English took entourage in 1832 for surroundings, a word picked up by De Quincey; the sense “attendants, companions” is recorded in English by 1860.[4]

Timeline

  • 1461 – An isolated record, for the people around someone.[2]
  • 1538 – The verb entourer is recorded.[2]
  • 1745 – Used for the walls around a hut.[6]
  • 1776 – Beaumarchais uses it for a person's circle.[2][5]
  • 1780 – Mme de Genlis uses it for what surrounds a thing.[2]
  • 1832 – English borrows the word.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The people who usually surround someone and live in their familiarity; one's circle, entourage.[7][8]
  2. An ornament or border placed around something: l'entourage d'une tombe, un entourage de perles.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Entourage.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/entourage. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·