fiancer

Forms

fiancer^[1] Old French fiancier, Picard fianchier;^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman fiancer and fiauncer.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French fiance (“pledge, trust”) + -er, first as Old French fiancier.^[3][1][5] The noun fiance, “oath of fealty” and later “trust”, is from French fier¹ (“to trust”), with the suffix -ance.^[3][6] The verb fier¹ comes from Vulgar Latin *fīdō (“to entrust”), formed from Latin fīdus (“faithful”).^[7][8]

Meyer-Lübke lists Italian fidanzare “to betroth” and Old Occitan fizansar “to promise” beside it;^[8] Littré gives the Occitan form as fiansar.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense was “to pledge one's word, to promise on oath”: the TLFi's first record is in Chrétien de Troyes's Erec et Enide, about 1170.^[3][6][5] Littré quotes a 12th-century line where the two sides jurer et fiancier (“swear and pledge”) never to start a war again.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to engage oneself to marry a woman” is found in Gerbert de Montreuil's Violette (1225–1229),^[3][6] and Bloch and Wartburg date the modern sense to Beaumanoir in 1283, the older sense “to make an engagement” lasting until the 15th century.^[7] Froissart still used it of a captured knight pledging himself as prisoner.^[9] The past participle was used as a noun, fiancée, by 1367, and the reflexive se fiancer is recorded from 1736.^[3][6]

From 1833 the verb is used figuratively, “to unite harmoniously”, a literary use found in Quinet and later in Verlaine.^[3][6][2]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Chrétien de Troyes uses fiancier for “to pledge one's word”.^[3]
• 1225–1229 – Gerbert de Montreuil uses it for promising to marry a woman.^[3]
• 1283 – Beaumanoir has the modern sense.^[7][2]
• 1367 – Fyancee is used as a noun.^[3]
• 1736 – Voltaire uses the reflexive se fiancer.^[3][6]
• 1833 – Quinet uses it figuratively for “to unite harmoniously”.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To betroth: to promise someone solemnly in marriage: fiancer sa fille à un voisin.^[3][10][11]
2. (reflexive) Se fiancer: to get engaged: Paul et Léa se sont fiancés au printemps.^[10][12]
3. (dated) To celebrate the betrothal of a couple, said of the priest.^[2][9]
4. (figurative, literary) To unite harmoniously.^[3][2]

Word family

• fiancé
• fiançailles

Related words

• fiance
• fier¹
• défier
• confiance
• Latin fīdus

Usage notes

Littré records the proverb tel fiance qui n'épouse pas, “many a man is engaged who does not marry”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
4. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)