Etymologically
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intriguer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 21:00. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛ̃.tʁi.ɡe/[1]

Forms

intriguer[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian intrigare (“to entangle; to perplex; to intrigue”),[2][3][4][5] the northern Italian form of intricare, from Latin intrīcō (“to entangle, embarrass”).[2][3] Littré traced the Latin verb to trīcae (“trifles, perplexities”).[6] The Italian verb meant “to entangle” and “to perplex” from the late 13th century, “to scheme” before 1541, “to meddle” in 1545 and “to arouse curiosity” before 1610.[2][3]

French had earlier borrowed the Latin verb as entriquer (14th century) and intriquer, its doublet.[4][1] Bloch and Wartburg think the sense “to scheme” may have developed in French and then passed into Italian.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Giles du Wes's grammar (1532), has it in the sense “to entangle, muddle”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In 1572 an affair intricgué was a complicated one.[8][3] The reflexive s'intriguer meant “to busy oneself with” (d'Aubigné, before 1630) and “to meddle in” (Retz).[2][3] The intransitive sense “to scheme, carry on intrigues” is in Pascal's Provinciales (1656): the cleverest Jesuits are those qui intriguent beaucoup.[2][3] La Fontaine (1678–1679) uses it transitively for “to trouble, preoccupy”, and Marivaux's intriguée (1735) is “anxious to know”;[2] hence the modern sense “to puzzle, arouse the curiosity of”.[3][7]

At masked balls one intriguait someone by teasing their curiosity without being recognised.[2][6] In the 18th century intriguer une pièce meant to give a play its plot (Voltaire, 1764).[3] The noun intrigue (1578) and intrigant (1583) are from Italian too.[4][3]

Timeline

  • 1532 – “To entangle” in Giles du Wes.[2]
  • 1572 – Intricgué “complicated”.[8]
  • 1578 – The noun intrigue.[4]
  • Before 1630 – S'intriguer in d'Aubigné.[2]
  • 1656 – “To scheme” in Pascal.[2]
  • 1678–1679 – “To trouble” in La Fontaine.[2]
  • 1735 – Intrigué in Marivaux.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To puzzle, make curious: ça m'intrigue, intrigué: puzzled, curious.[7][1]
  2. (intransitive) To scheme, plot, use intrigue: obtenir un poste en intriguant.[7][9]
  3. (obsolete) To trouble, embarrass.[7][10]

Word family

  • intrigue
  • intrigant
  • intriquer
  • Italian intrigare

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 779b
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert