Etymologically
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inquiet

Etymology and origin of the French word inquiet

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1588, Montaigne
Borrowed from
Latin inquietus
Ultimate origin
Latin (quiēs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛ̃.kjɛ/[1]

Forms

inquiet (feminine inquiète, masculine plural inquiets, feminine plural inquiètes)[1] First written inquiete for both genders (Montaigne, 1588); inquiet from 1596.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing borrowed from Latin inquiētus (“restless, troubled”), formed from in- (“not”) and quiētus (“at rest”), from quiēs (“rest”).[4][3][5] The verb inquiéter (12th century) and the noun inquiétude (1406) are older borrowings of the same family.[6][1] The inherited form of quiētus is coi “quiet”.[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Montaigne uses inquiete in the Essais (1588) for what finds no rest, restless, turbulent: cette volubilité soupple et inquiete of the mind.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century the word kept the Latin sense of physical or moral agitation; since then it has narrowed to agitation caused by fear.[6] Hulsius in 1596 records “troubled by passion or fear”, and Corneille in 1662 uses it for what shows unease (sa flamme inquiète).[4][3] Bossuet in 1669 applies it to a person never content with their state, the source of the positive “restless, searching mind”.[4][3] Of sleep it means troubled (1671), and La Fontaine in 1678 uses it of a restless young man.[3][2] The modern everyday sense is “worried, anxious”.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1588 – Inquiete “restless”, in Montaigne.[4]
  • 1596 – “Troubled by fear”, in Hulsius.[4]
  • 1611 – The adverb inquiètement, in Cotgrave.[4]
  • 1662 – “Showing unease”, in Corneille.[4]
  • 1669 – “Never satisfied”, in Bossuet.[4]
  • 1671 – Sommeil inquiet.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Worried, anxious: elle est inquiète de votre silence, je suis inquiet à son sujet.[8][9]
  2. Showing worry: un regard inquiet.[9][7]
  3. (dated) Restless, agitated: sommeil inquiet.[8][2]
  4. (literary) Never satisfied with one's state: une curiosité inquiète.[8]
  5. (literary, of things) Ever moving: une mer inquiète.[4]

Noun

  1. A worrier: c'est une inquiète.[9][8]

Word family

  • coi
  • quiet
  • quitte
  • quiétude
  • Latin inquiētus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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 c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Inquiet.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/inquiet. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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