Etymologically
Log in

importer

Etymology and origin of the French word importer

History Permalink
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin importo
English import
French importer

French has two verbs spelled importer: importer “to import”, a term of trade from Latin importare, revived after English to import, and importer “to matter”, taken from Italian importare.[1][2][3]

importer1 import

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1382 (term of trade)
Borrowed from
Latin importo
Ultimate origin
Latin (portō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.te/[3]

Forms

importer[3]

Etymology

The verb “to import” is borrowed from Latin importō (“to bring in, carry into”), a term of trade, from in- and portō (“to carry”).[2][1][4][5] It gained new life in the 17th century under the influence of English import (1548), itself borrowed from Middle French.[2][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1382, in Burgundy, meaning “to bring (a sum of money) into a joint business”; in 1396 the customs of Dieppe use it for bringing goods into a country.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word became current again in 1669, in Colbert's letters, after the English trade term.[2][1][6] It was used of livestock in 1755, and Louis-Sébastien Mercier urged writers to importer new phrases into French (1801).[2] Derivatives include importation (1734), importateur (1756) and réimporter (1792); in computing it means “to import data”.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1382 – A term of trade.[2]
  • 1396 – “To bring goods into a country”.[2]
  • 1669 – Revived, after English, in Colbert.[2][6]
  • 1734 – Importation.[6]
  • 1801 – Figurative use, in Mercier.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To import (goods) into a country: importer du café.[7][3]
  2. To introduce from abroad: une mode importée d'Angleterre.[7]
  3. (computing) To import (data).[7]

Word family

  • importation
  • importateur
  • réimporter

importer2 matter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1536, Rabelais
Borrowed from
Italian importare
Ultimate origin
Latin (portō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.te/[3]

Forms

importer[3]

Etymology

The verb “to matter” is borrowed from Italian importare (“to entail; to concern, be of consequence”), from Latin importō (“to bring in; to cause”).[2][8][6][1] Its first French sense, “to entail”, is probably a remaking after Italian of Old French emporter (“to entail, have as a consequence”) (1283).[2][8] The sense “to concern, be of importance” is purely Italian, as are importance (about 1470) and important (1476), taken from Italian at about the same time.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Rabelais (1536), meaning “to require, entail”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

“To concern, be of consequence” is recorded in 1543, importer à in 1552 and the absolute use in 1587.[2] The impersonal forms followed: qu'importe que in Montaigne (1595), il importe de (1611) and il importe que (1636).[2][8] N'importe gave pronouns and adverbs such as n'importe qui, n'importe quoi (18th century) and n'importe quel (Rousseau, 1782); n'importe quoi ! now expresses disapproval of something absurd.[8][2]

Timeline

  • 1536 – “To entail”, in Rabelais.[2]
  • 1543 – “To concern”, in Amadis.[2]
  • 1595 – Qu'importe que, in Montaigne.[2]
  • 1611 – Il importe de.[2]
  • 1782 – N'importe quel, in Rousseau.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To matter, be important: cela m'importe peu.[7][3]
  2. Il importe de / que: it is important to / that.[7]
  3. Peu importe, qu'importe: it doesn't matter, n'importe: no matter.[7][3]
  4. N'importe qui, n'importe quoi, n'importe où: anyone, anything, anywhere.[8][3]

Word family

  • qu'importe
  • n'importe

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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 Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 598a
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Importer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/importer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·