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examen

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Etymology and origin of the French word examen

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1337–1339, Tombel de Chartrose
Borrowed from
Latin examen
Ultimate origin
Latin agō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin examen
French examen
Italian esame

Pronunciation

  • /ɛɡ.za.mɛ̃/[1]
  • /eɡ.za.mɛ̃/[1]

Forms

examen m (plural examens)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin exāmen (“tongue of a balance; weighing, examination”), a learned borrowing[2][3][4] which Rey derives from *exagsmen, from ex- (“out of”) and the root of agō (“to drive”).[5] The Latin noun is related to exigō, which had two senses: “to drive out”, behind the noun's sense “swarm”, and “to finish weighing, weigh exactly”, behind “tongue of a balance”, whence “check, examination”.[2][5][6] The same Latin word, inherited, gave essaim “swarm”.[5][1]

Littré notes that the final ⟨-en⟩ was once pronounced as in Latin, a pronunciation he already thought affected.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Tombel de Chartrose (1337–1339) in derain examen, the Last Judgement;[2][5] it is found again in 1372 meaning a close study of something.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The general sense of careful examination has lasted, in phrases such as libre examen, the right to accept a belief only after rational scrutiny, and examen de conscience, the review of one's own conduct, fixed towards the end of the 17th century.[5][7] At the end of the 15th century (1485, a royal ordinance) it took the sense of a test set to a candidate, used then of a master craftsman's admission.[2][7] With the growth of schooling in the 19th century the word entered many phrases (examen de passage, examen oral), and school slang shortened it to exam (1880).[5] The derived verb is examiner, borrowed about 1240.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1240 – The verb examiner is borrowed.[5]
  • 1337–1339 – Derain examen “Last Judgement”.[2]
  • 1372 – A close study of something.[2][6]
  • 1485 – A test for a candidate, in a royal ordinance.[2][7]
  • 1880 – The clipped form exam.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A careful study or inspection of something: l'examen d'un dossier.[8][9]
  2. (medicine) A medical examination of a patient, or a test carried out for a diagnosis.[8]
  3. An exam, a test or set of tests a candidate takes to show knowledge or ability.[8][1]
  4. Examen de conscience: a review of one's own conduct, especially before confession.[7][5]
  5. Libre examen: the right to accept as true only what reason admits.[7][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 258a
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Examen.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/examen. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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