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envie

Etymology and origin of the French word envie

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 980, Passion de Clermont (enveie)
Inherited from
Old French enveie
Ultimate origin
Latin (invideō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃.vi/[1]

Forms

envie f (plural envies)[1] Old French enveie (about 980), enveia (10th century), envie from about 1130–1155.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French enveie, an adaptation of Latin invidia (“ill will, jealousy, envy”).[4][2][5][6] The vowel /ei/ was changed to /i/ after the verb envier.[1] “Invidia” comes from invidus (“envious”), from invideō (“to look at with ill will, to envy”), a compound of in- and videō (“to see”); the verb alludes to the evil eye.[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg call the French word a Frenchified form of the Latin, and note that Old Occitan enveja looks more popular.[5]

Compare Catalan enveja, Spanish envidia, Portuguese inveja and Italian invidia.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 980, in the Passion of Clermont, as enveie, meaning “hostility, hatred”, a sense it has not kept.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In 1155 Wace used it in both of its present senses: resentful jealousy of another's good fortune, and “desire for something”.[4][2] The proverb il vaut mieux faire envie que pitié and faire envie “to arouse desire” (1625) come from these.[2] At the end of the 15th century it was applied to bodily needs (envye de boire, Commynes), whence avoir envie “to need to urinate”.[5][2]

Envie de femme grosse (1606) was a pregnant woman's sudden craving; it was believed to leave a mark on the child, whence envie “birthmark” (1611).[2][3] A hangnail has been called envie since 1640 (Oudin).[4]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Enveie “hatred”, in the Passion of Clermont.[4]
  • 1155 – “Jealousy” and “desire”, in Wace's Brut.[4]
  • 1165 – The verb envier.[5]
  • Late 15th century – A bodily need, in Commynes.[5][3]
  • 1606 – Envie de femme grosse.[2]
  • 1611 – “Birthmark”, in Cotgrave.[3]
  • 1640 – “Hangnail”, in Oudin.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. envy, resentful jealousy of another's advantages.[9][10]
  2. A wish to have what another has: porter envie à quelqu'un, faire envie.[3][10]
  3. A desire, wish: avoir envie de partir.[9][1]
  4. A sudden bodily need or craving: une envie de vomir.[9]
  5. A birthmark.[9][1]
  6. A hangnail.[4][1]

Word family

  • envier
  • envieux

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 799a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Envie.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/envie. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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