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expatrier

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Etymology and origin of the French word expatrier

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1395 Boutillier, Somme rurale More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin patria
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin patrius
Latin patria
French patrie
Romanian patrie
French expatrier
From the same root
Latin repatriō ← patria

Pronunciation

  • /ɛk.spa.tʁi.je/[1]

Forms

expatrier[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French ex- + patrie + -er.[2][3][4][5] The noun patrie is a borrowing of Latin patria, from pater (“father”).[1][6] Bloch and Wartburg note that the verb was made after the Latin word.[7] It is recorded long before patrie itself (1511).[8][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is the participle expatriez in Jean Boutillier's Somme rurale (1395), where it means people absent from the country as well as exiles and banished people.[2][9][8]

Semantic evolution

The verb spread in the 18th century: the infinitive is recorded in 1731 and the reflexive s'expatrier “to leave one's country” in 1743, in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.[7][3][4][8] Of capital, expatrier has meant to invest abroad since the middle of the 20th century.[4] In sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar expatrié is used of a European or North American working for a time in the country.[8]

English expatriate (1768) was modelled on the French verb.[6]

Timeline

  • 1395 – Boutillier uses expatriez in the Somme rurale.[2][8]
  • 1603 – The noun expatriation is recorded.[8]
  • 1731 – The infinitive is recorded.[7][3]
  • 1743 – S'expatrier appears in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.[4][8]
  • 1768 – English borrows the word as expatriate.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive, rare) To force someone to leave their country, to exile or banish them.[5][2]
  2. (transitive) To move capital abroad: expatrier des capitaux.[5][4]
  3. (reflexive) s'expatrier: to leave one's country to settle elsewhere, to emigrate.[5][2]

Word family

  • expatrié
  • expatriation

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Expatrier.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/expatrier. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·