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inhabité

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Etymology and origin of the French word inhabité

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1396 More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
French in-,habité

Pronunciation

  • /i.na.bi.te/[1]

Forms

inhabité (feminine inhabitée, masculine plural inhabités, feminine plural inhabitées)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French in- + habité, the past participle of habiter.[2][3][4][1][5] Bloch–Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date it from 1396; the TLFi's first quotation is from 1426.[6][3][7][2] Littré instead derived it from Latin inhabitātus.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a document of 1426 from the archives of the Nord, a country is said to have been left “inhabité de gens”, empty of people, by the English wars;[2] in the mid-15th-century chronicle of Charles VII by Jean Chartier, several regions remained wholly inhabitées.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word described land and regions without inhabitants; it is also said of a closed place such as a house or room that nobody lives in.[2][4] In the early 20th century a figurative, literary sense appeared: a face or body in which there seems to be no life or mind.[4][7]

Timeline

  • 1396 – First record of inhabité.[6][3][7]
  • 1426 – A document from the archives of the Nord speaks of a country left uninhabited by war.[2]
  • mid-15th century – Jean Chartier's chronicle of Charles VII uses it of deserted regions.[2]
  • early 20th century – The figurative sense “lifeless, vacant” appears.[4][7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. uninhabited, with no inhabitants: said of a region or land: Une île inhabitée au large de la côte.[7][2][4]
  2. Unoccupied, empty: said of a house, flat or room: Le château est resté inhabité pendant vingt ans.[2][7]
  3. (figurative, literary) Without life or intelligence; vacant: Un regard inhabité.[7][4]
  4. unmanned.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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, 369b
  6. ^ a b 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Inhabité.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/inhabit%C3%A9. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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