Etymologically
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fabriquer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fa.bʁi.ke/[1]

Forms

fabriquer[1] Old French favricher, fabricher, fabriker;[2][3] fabriquer from the 16th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fabricō (“to shape, make”), from fabrica (“craft, workshop”), a derivative of faber (“craftsman working hard materials”).[2][4][5] The popular outcome of the same Latin verb is forger, its doublet.[1][5] Latin faber gave Old French fevre (“smith”), which survives in orfèvre and in the surnames Fèvre and Lefèvre.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) renders Latin fabricaverunt peccatores as favricherent li peccheur, “the sinners plotted”;[2] at the end of the 12th century a translation of the Song of Songs has fabricher for making something by hand.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb was rare before the 16th century.[5][6] Montaigne writes that wickedness fabrique des torments contre soy (1580).[7][3] The industrial sense, turning raw materials into manufactured goods, is in Furetière in 1690, and fabricant in 1604.[2][4] The idea of deceit, already present in Latin, lives on in fabriquer de faux papiers and fabriquer une calomnie.[4][7] Sainte-Beuve in 1828 uses it of a work made by technique instead of being felt.[2] In familiar French qu'est-ce que tu fabriques ? means “what are you up to?” (1879); old slang also used it for “to arrest” (1876), “to cheat” (1878) and “to steal” (1887).[4]

Timeline

  • First half of the 12th century – “To plot”, in the Oxford Psalter.[2]
  • Late 12th century – “To make by hand”.[2]
  • 1580 – In Montaigne.[3]
  • 1604 – Fabricant.[2]
  • 1690 – The industrial sense, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1828 – Of an artificial work, in Sainte-Beuve.[2]
  • 1879 – Qu'est-ce que tu fabriques ?[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make something by working a material: il a fabriqué lui-même ces étagères.[8][9]
  2. To manufacture, produce goods from raw materials by industrial processes: fabriquer en série.[9][3]
  3. To make up in order to deceive, fabricate: fabriquer de faux papiers, de fausses nouvelles.[4][7]
  4. (familiar) To be doing, be up to: qu'est-ce que tu fabriques ?[9][8]

Word family

  • fabricant
  • fabrication
  • préfabriquer
  • fabricateur
  • fabrique
  • forger
  • orfèvre
  • Latin fabricō

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert