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imaginer

Etymology and origin of the French word imaginer

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1290, Drouart la Vache
Borrowed from
Latin imaginor
Ultimate origin
Latin (imāgō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin imaginor
French imaginer

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /i.ma.ʒi.ne/[1]

Forms

imaginer[1] Old French also ymaginer.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin imāginor (“to picture to oneself, imagine”), a word of the Imperial period derived from imāgō (“image, likeness”) (see image).[2][4][5][6]

Compare Occitan imaginar, Spanish imaginar and Italian immaginare.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1290 in Drouart la Vache, meaning “to form an image of in the mind”: toz jors pense et ymagine a cele qui le tient en joie (“he always thinks of and imagines her who keeps him in joy”).[2]

Semantic evolution

In 1314 it meant “to conceive the possibility of”, with imaginer que; about 1460 Chastellain used it for “to devise, invent”.[2][8] The reflexive is recorded in 1553, and s'imaginer “to fancy, believe without grounds” from 1636.[2] Vous n'imaginez pas… dates from 1779 and the parenthetic j'imagine “I suppose” from 1873.[8] Related words were borrowed from Latin about the same time: imagination (12th century), imaginable (1295) and imaginaire (1496).[4]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Imagination.[4]
  • 1290 – In Drouart la Vache.[2]
  • 1314 – Imaginer que, in Henri de Mondeville.[2]
  • c. 1460 – “To invent”, in Chastellain.[2][8]
  • 1636 – S'imaginer “to fancy”.[2]
  • 1873 – J'imagine “I suppose”.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To imagine, picture to oneself: j'imagine très bien la scène.[9][1]
  2. To suppose: j'imagine qu'il a voulu plaisanter.[9][8]
  3. To invent, devise: imaginer un expédient.[9]
  4. S'imaginer: to picture oneself; to fancy, believe wrongly.[2]

Word family

  • imaginatif
  • inimaginable
  • image
  • imagination
  • imaginaire
  • imaginable

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 563a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Imaginer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/imaginer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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