Etymologically
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histoire

Etymology and origin of the French word histoire

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
early 12th century, Vie de saint Alexis
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (ἱστορία)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /is.twaʁ/[1]

Forms

histoire f (plural histoires)[1] Old French istorie (early 12th century), storie (about 1105), estoire, the usual medieval form (1155), hystoire (Wace, 1155); histoire in Oresme (about 1361).[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is an adapted borrowing of Latin historia (“history, historical narrative; tale”),[2][3][6][7] from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía, “inquiry, information; account”),[2][3] from ἵστωρ (hístōr, “one who knows, witness”).[5][8][9] It belongs to the family of εἰδέναι (eidénai, “to know”), from the Indo-European root “*weid-” of Latin videō (“to see”) and Sanskrit “veda”.[3][8]

Anglo-Norman “estorie”, “historie” corresponds to English history and English story.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The prologue of the Vie de saint Alexis (early 12th century) has istorie, the account of the events of someone's life;[2][3] in 1155 Wace has hystoire for a chronicle of a people.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century it also meant the body of knowledge about the human past (Brunetto Latini, about 1265: Estoire est raconter les anciennes choses qui ont esté veraiement), as opposed to poetry and philosophy;[2][3][9] histoire naturelle appears in Belon (1551), and la mémoire que la postérité garde du passé in Rotrou (1646).[2] An histoire was also a scene with several figures in a picture (about 1240), a tapestry or a sculpture, whence peintre d'histoire (1690).[2][3]

From about 1462 (Cent Nouvelles nouvelles) it was any tale, true or invented, and in Molière (1663) a lie told to deceive, whence raconter des histoires.[2][3] In 1670 it was an affair, a business, and the plural soon meant fuss and trouble (faire des histoires, 1732).[2][3] In Belgium histoire is used, like affaire in France, for “thing”.[3]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – Istorie in Saint Alexis.[2]
  • 1155 – Hystoire “chronicle”, in Wace.[2]
  • c. 1240 – A painted scene.[2]
  • c. 1265 – Knowledge of the past, in Brunetto Latini.[2]
  • c. 1361 – The form histoire in Oresme.[5]
  • c. 1462 – A tale, in the Cent Nouvelles nouvelles.[2]
  • 1551 – Histoire naturelle in Belon.[2]
  • 1663 – “A lie”, in Molière.[2]
  • 1732 – Faire des histoires.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. History: knowledge and account of the past; the past itself: l'histoire de France, entrer dans l'histoire.[8][1]
  2. History as a subject or science: un professeur d'histoire.[8][2]
  3. A story, tale: raconter une histoire, histoire drôle: joke.[1][8]
  4. (informal) A lie, fib: raconter des histoires.[1][3]
  5. An affair, business, (plural) trouble, fuss: faire des histoires, histoire de rire: just for a laugh.[1][3]
  6. Histoire naturelle: natural history.[2][3]

Word family

  • histoire-géo
  • historien
  • historiette
  • préhistoire
  • historique
  • historier

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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 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. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 439a
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
Cite this entry

“Histoire.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/histoire. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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