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financier

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Etymology and origin of the French word financier

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1420 More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin fīnis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French finance
French financier
English financier
Romanian financiar

Pronunciation

  • /fi.nɑ̃.sje/[1]

Forms

financier (feminine financière, masculine plural financiers, feminine plural financières)[1] Middle French financhiere (about 1420).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French finance + -ier.[4][1][5][6] finance is from the old verb finer (“to bring to an end, pay”), an altered form of finir under the influence of the noun fin1.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are of a noun financhiere about 1420, “one who pays or provides”,[2][3] and about 1440, in Achille Caulier's Hospital d'Amours, “owner”: dame qui est financhiere de tous les biens de mon pourpris.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 15th century (1494) financier was a person who handles money matters, while from 1549 it named those who managed the public finances under the Ancien Régime, such as the tax farmers.[4][3] The word followed the shift from the state's money business, dominant from the 14th to the 17th century, to private capitalist finance in the 18th and 19th centuries: the adjective “relating to finance” appears in 1752 and financièrement in 1829.[3][4] From 1776 the noun also meant someone skilled in managing money.[4][3]

The feminine financière (1755), or sauce financière, is a rich sauce or garnish recalling the tables of the old tax farmers.[3][4] In the theatre financier was the role of a rich man and the actor who played it.[8][7] English took the noun in the 1610s for a person concerned with public finances.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1420 – Financhiere is recorded for one who pays.[2][3]
  • c. 1440 – Achille Caulier uses financiere for an owner.[4]
  • 1494 – André de la Vigne uses financier of men handling money.[4][7]
  • 1549 – Estienne records the sense of a manager of public finances.[4]
  • 1610s – English financier is borrowed.[9]
  • 1752 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux records the adjective.[4][10]
  • 1755 – Menon names a dish financière.[4]
  • 1776 – Voltaire uses it for one skilled in money matters.[4]
  • 1829 – Boiste records financièrement.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (history) Under the Ancien Régime, one who held the farm or management of the king's revenues, a tax farmer.[11][6][12]
  2. A person who does large money business, in banking or on the stock exchange, a financier.[11][12]
  3. A specialist in managing public or private finances.[11][12]
  4. A small soft cake made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites.[11][12]

Adjective

  1. Relating to finance or to financiers.[4][11]
  2. Relating to money resources, private or public, financial: la situation financière d'une entreprise.[10][11]

Word family

  • financièrement

Usage notes

The feminine noun is hardly used of a person.[11] Sauce financière, formerly also à la financière, is a sauce garnished with costly ingredients such as sweetbreads and truffles.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Financier.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/financier. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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