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extérieur

Etymology and origin of the French word extérieur

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1447
Borrowed from
Latin exterior
Ultimate origin
Latin (ex)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛk.ste.ʁjœʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /ɛk.stɛ.ʁjœʁ/[1]

Forms

extérieur (feminine extérieure, masculine plural extérieurs, feminine plural extérieures)[1] First written exterior (1447); extérieur from 1563.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin exterior (“outer”), the comparative of exter (“on the outside”), refashioned with the ending of French adjectives in ⟨-eur⟩.[2][3][4][5] The Latin word is formed from ex- (“out of”) and the element ⟨-ter⟩ “on the side of”;[3][6] Littré notes that it is a double comparative, as the suffix of the positive already had comparative force.[3][6] Christian Latin used it as a noun for what is outside.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A text of 1447 has exterior for what lies outside a person.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Calvin (1541) applies it to what does not belong to a person's inner nature, as in l'apparence exterieure du bien, and Palissy (1563) to what can be seen from outside, as adjective and noun.[3][6][2] À l'extérieur “outwardly, in appearance” is in Pascal (1662), and un extérieur for a person's appearance or manner from 1669.[2][3]

From the sense “outside” came the use for foreign countries, as a noun (1849) and an adjective, as in commerce extérieur (1865) and politique extérieure.[3][7] In cinema un extérieur is a shot taken outside the studio (1914), and in sport a match à l'extérieur is an away game.[3][7]

Timeline

  • 1447 – Exterior.[2]
  • 1541 – Of outward appearances, in Calvin.[3]
  • 1563 – Extérieur, adjective and noun, in Palissy.[2]
  • 1662 – À l'extérieur, in Pascal.[2]
  • 1865 – Commerce extérieur.[3]
  • 1914 – A film shot on location.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Outer, external, outside: cour extérieure, éclairage extérieur.[7][8]
  2. Extérieur à: outside, not part of: des considérations extérieures au sujet.[7][8]
  3. Existing outside the mind: le monde extérieur.[9]
  4. Visible from outside; outward, apparent.[6][9]
  5. Concerning foreign countries: politique extérieure, commerce extérieur.[7][6]

Noun

  1. The outside, the exterior: l'extérieur d'une maison, à l'extérieur, outside, (sport) away.[10][7]
  2. A person's outward appearance and manner: un extérieur négligé.[10][3]
  3. Foreign countries: les relations avec l'extérieur.[10][3]
  4. (cinema) A shot filmed on location.[3]

Word family

  • extérioriser
  • extérieurement
  • extériorité
  • extériorisation

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 328a
  6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Extérieur.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ext%C3%A9rieur. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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