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imitateur

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Etymology and origin of the French word imitateur

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1422 Alain Chartier, Quadrilogue invectif More words from the 15th century
Borrowed from
Latin imitator
Ultimate origin
Latin imitor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin imitor
French imiter
Romanian imita
Latin imitātor
French imitateur
English imitator
From the same root
Latin imitābilis ← imitor
Latin imitātiō ← imitor

Pronunciation

  • /i.mi.ta.tœʁ/[1]

Forms

imitateur m (plural imitateurs, feminine imitatrice)[1] Middle French spellings include immitateur and ymitateur.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin imitātor (“imitator”), with its feminine imitātrīx behind imitatrice.[2][4][5] The Latin noun is formed on the supine of imitor (“to imitate”), the verb behind imiter.[4][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is Alain Chartier's Quadrilogue invectif (1422), where the author calls himself a distant imitator of the orators.[2][6] Littré and the GLLF cite an earlier use in the 14th-century poem Nature à l’alchimie, and the DMF has immitateurs in a mystery play of about 1413–1445.[7][8][3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word named someone who follows another person's example or work; by the early 16th century it was used of those who copied the manners of others.[2][8] The feminine imitatrice appears in 1530 in Gilles du Guez's grammar, in the phrase saying that art imitates nature.[2][6] As an adjective it described a person or animal given to imitation, and La Fontaine's use in 1658 is the GLLF's date for one of its senses.[8]

A recent specialisation is the stage performer who mimics the voice and manner of well-known people.[6][2]

Timeline

  • 1422 – Alain Chartier calls himself immitateur des orateurs.[2]
  • 1508–1517 – Fossetier uses it of people who imitate others' manners.[2]
  • 1530 – The feminine imitatrice is recorded.[2][6]
  • 1658 – La Fontaine's use gives the GLLF's date for the sense of taking someone as a model.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who imitates the gestures, behaviour or speech of others.[9][10][5]
  2. A performer who impersonates famous people, imitating their voice and manner; an impressionist.[9][5][2]
  3. A writer or artist who imitates the works of another; a follower or epigone.[9][7]

Adjective

  1. Given to imitating; imitative.[9][5][1]

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. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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 c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Imitateur.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/imitateur. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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